As Bangladesh officially begins nuclear fuel loading at Rooppur, the nation stands at a historic crossroads. Is the country’s biggest ever infrastructure project a game-changing investment or a dangerous debt trap? Living Arcade presents a hard-hitting, balanced analysis.
Bangladesh’s electricity crisis has reached a breaking point in rural districts, with communities in Gazipur, Rangpur, Khulna, Sylhet and beyond enduring up to 10 hours of daily power cuts as a perfect storm of gas shortages, unpaid fuel bills, and soaring summer demand overwhelms the national grid. While Dhaka remains largely shielded, millions of rural Bangladeshis are sweating through the darkest nights of the year.
Bangladesh is caught in a fierce weather tug-of-war today a mild to moderate heatwave continues to scorch more than a dozen districts, while the Bangladesh Meteorological Department has issued a forecast of rain, thundershowers, gusty winds, and heavy falls across the northern and northeastern regions within the next 24 hours. Relief from the heat is on the way, but not before the skies turn dramatic.
Bangladesh’s export zone authority is pushing to expand industrial activity deep into the country’s north, with new export processing zones planned for Rangpur and Sirajganj. The move signals a decisive shift away from the decades-old pattern of concentrating industry around Dhaka and Chattagram and could reshape the economic geography of an entire region.
Bangladesh has lost approximately 246,000 hectares of forest cover over the past two decades, with Bandarban district bearing the heaviest blow. Experts warn that the continued destruction of tree cover is directly fuelling urban heat islands and worsening Bangladesh’s already extreme vulnerability to climate change.
Bangladesh is battling its worst measles crisis in decades, with 194 children dead and over 28,000 suspected cases reported since mid-March 2026. The outbreak has now spread to 58 of 64 districts, with children under five accounting for the vast majority of victims. A nationwide vaccination campaign is underway, targeting 18 million children across the country.
