State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Geohazards in Bangladesh

  • Sailing Around the Bangladesh Coastal Zone

    Sailing Around the Bangladesh Coastal Zone

    The future sustainability of the delta depends on the balance of sea level rise, the subsidence of the land, and the deposition of sediments that can help maintain the land.

  • Driving Around the Bangladesh Coastal Zone 

    Driving Around the Bangladesh Coastal Zone 

    Mike Steckler travels around the coastal zone of the world’s largest delta in Bangladesh to repair GNSS (GPS) instruments.

  • Continuing on to Comilla, Dhaka and the Coast

    Continuing on to Comilla, Dhaka and the Coast

    After finishing fixing their global navigation satellite system equipment in Sylhet, Mike Steckler and his team traveled south to repair more stations in Comilla, then to Dhaka and the coast.

  • Repairing Global Navigation Satellite Systems in the Land of Tea

    Repairing Global Navigation Satellite Systems in the Land of Tea

    Mike Steckler is back in Sylhet, Bangladesh, to repair GNSS stations that are monitoring tectonics and earthquake hazards, and measuring the sinking of the land in the world’s biggest delta.

  • Mangroves, Tigers and Shopping

    Mangroves, Tigers and Shopping

    The last part of our trip was a whirlwind of seeing multiple sites in the Sundarbans mangrove forest and its wildlife, more interviews with villagers, historic and cultural sites and shopping, followed by tearful goodbyes.

  • Poets and Polders

    Poets and Polders

    Continuing on our journey, we visited the shrine and former home of Bangladeshi cultural icons, continued our interviews, and boarded a boat to take us to the embanked islands known as polders.

  • A Special Trip to Bangladesh

    A Special Trip to Bangladesh

    In Bangladesh, a large and growing population lives in one of the most dynamic and sensitive environments on Earth, subject to multiple natural disasters and threatened by climate change.

  • Finding an Undocumented Earthquake That Moved a River

    Finding an Undocumented Earthquake That Moved a River

    Researchers offer a behind-the-scenes look at their recent discovery of an earthquake that shifted the course of the Ganges.

  • An Earthquake Changed the Course of the Ganges. Could It Happen Again?

    An Earthquake Changed the Course of the Ganges. Could It Happen Again?

    2,500 years ago, an earthquake changed the course of the mighty Ganges River, a new study shows. The region remains vulnerable to a similar event now.

Collage of Turkiye beach scene and Columbia University Campus with text: UN Climate Change Conference COP31, Antalya, Turkiye, Nov 9-20, 2026

COP31, the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, aims to advance dialogue, strengthen consensus, and accelerate climate action on a global scale. From November 9–20, 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye, heads of state, ministers, scientists, business leaders, and civil society will gather to advance efforts in emission targets, climate finance, and adaptation and resilience. Once again, our experts, students, and global thought leaders from Columbia Climate School and across Columbia University are contributing to key events, sharing insights, and helping shape the dialogue toward ambitious, science-based solutions. Learn More

  • Sailing Around the Bangladesh Coastal Zone

    Sailing Around the Bangladesh Coastal Zone

    The future sustainability of the delta depends on the balance of sea level rise, the subsidence of the land, and the deposition of sediments that can help maintain the land.

  • Driving Around the Bangladesh Coastal Zone 

    Driving Around the Bangladesh Coastal Zone 

    Mike Steckler travels around the coastal zone of the world’s largest delta in Bangladesh to repair GNSS (GPS) instruments.

  • Continuing on to Comilla, Dhaka and the Coast

    Continuing on to Comilla, Dhaka and the Coast

    After finishing fixing their global navigation satellite system equipment in Sylhet, Mike Steckler and his team traveled south to repair more stations in Comilla, then to Dhaka and the coast.

  • Repairing Global Navigation Satellite Systems in the Land of Tea

    Repairing Global Navigation Satellite Systems in the Land of Tea

    Mike Steckler is back in Sylhet, Bangladesh, to repair GNSS stations that are monitoring tectonics and earthquake hazards, and measuring the sinking of the land in the world’s biggest delta.

  • Mangroves, Tigers and Shopping

    Mangroves, Tigers and Shopping

    The last part of our trip was a whirlwind of seeing multiple sites in the Sundarbans mangrove forest and its wildlife, more interviews with villagers, historic and cultural sites and shopping, followed by tearful goodbyes.

  • Poets and Polders

    Poets and Polders

    Continuing on our journey, we visited the shrine and former home of Bangladeshi cultural icons, continued our interviews, and boarded a boat to take us to the embanked islands known as polders.

  • A Special Trip to Bangladesh

    A Special Trip to Bangladesh

    In Bangladesh, a large and growing population lives in one of the most dynamic and sensitive environments on Earth, subject to multiple natural disasters and threatened by climate change.

  • Finding an Undocumented Earthquake That Moved a River

    Finding an Undocumented Earthquake That Moved a River

    Researchers offer a behind-the-scenes look at their recent discovery of an earthquake that shifted the course of the Ganges.

  • An Earthquake Changed the Course of the Ganges. Could It Happen Again?

    An Earthquake Changed the Course of the Ganges. Could It Happen Again?

    2,500 years ago, an earthquake changed the course of the mighty Ganges River, a new study shows. The region remains vulnerable to a similar event now.