Bangladesh is in South Asia, just north of the Bay of Bengal. It is bordered by India on three sides, and by Myanmar, also known as Burma, on the south. It is one of the world's most crowded nations. To understand what that means, keep in mind that more than six times the whole population of Canada live in a country twice the size of New Brunswick. Bangladesh has one of the wettest climates in the world and water dominates daily living. Three main rivers and many smaller waterways criss-cross low green and gold plains, carrying boats and rafts laden with goods and people. Regular floods nourish the soil with river sediment, making the fields of rice, wheat and jute among the richest in the world. Just as water enriches Bangladesh, it destroys as well. Devastating tropical storms called cyclones hit Bangladesh every few years. In 1991 a cyclone killed 138,000 people and left ten million homeless. Controlling flooding and erosion and building cyclone shelters are major concerns. Bangladeshis adapt to the floods that come with the monsoon rains of summer and autumn. At that time, wading through waist-high water may become a fact of life. Some people even live in floating houses that rise and fall with the waters. In fact, the oldest inscription found here urges people to store grain before the floodwaters come. Some of the hilly eastern regions receive 5000 millimetres of rainfall per year. Bangladeshis divide their year into three main seasons. These are: Barsha, the monsoon time from June to September, Sheet, the cool period from October to February and Grishma, the hot season which occurs from March to May. Most of the year's rainfall comes between June and September. Humidity reaches 95% in the rainy season. Temperatures can range from lows of 5C in the cool season to highs around 40C in the hot season.
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