- Salt farming is one of the largest seasonal livelihood sources in Bangladesh’s southeastern part. About 40,000 farmers are engaged in salt farming on around 27,520 hectares (68,000 acres) of land across Cox’s Bazar district this year.
- However, in recent years, unpredictable weather — such as increased rainy days and cold waves — has been disrupting salt production, forcing farmers to quit their generational livelihoods.
- Usually, salt production depends on dry weather, strong sunlight and high temperatures to crystallize salty water into salt.
- Experts caution that changing weather patterns could undermine both production stability and economic resilience of salt farming communities without adaptation measures.
Bent over a salt bed, a 55-year-old farmer, Nasir Uddin, was scooping up and throwing out water with a hand-made pot His field was flooded by a few hours of heavy overnight rain.
On his 0.5 hectares (1.2 acres) of salt plot located in southeastern Bangladesh, nearly 18 maunds of salt (each maund is equal to 40 kilograms, or 88 pounds) had been washed away just a day before harvesting.
“I was expecting to collect salt today [April 16]. But the rain has damaged all the salt,” said Nasir, a farmer from Moulabir Gona village of Kutubdia subdistrict in Cox’s Bazar district.
The farmer said the rainfall on April 15 happened when production is usually at its peak.
“We didn’t experience rainfall in March-April in the past. But over the last 8-10 years, rain has started occurring during this time, even in December and January, during winters,” said Nasir, who has been cultivating salt for around 28 years.
Like Nasir, thousands of salt farmers across the coastal belt are now facing similar losses from unseasonal rain, as erratic weather increasingly disrupts production.
Climate variability emerges as a growing threat
Salt farming is one of the largest seasonal livelihoods in the country. In the ongoing season, farming has taken place on more than 27,520 hectares (68,000 acres) of land across Cox’s Bazar’s Sadar, Kutubdia, Maheshkhali, Chakaria, Pekua, Eidgaon and Teknaf subdistricts and Chittagong’s Banskhali subdistrict in southeastern Bangladesh. More than 40,000 farmers are directly involved in the sector.
But over the last several years, unpredictable weather, such as unseasonal rain and increased cold waves, has disrupted salt production, forcing farmers to shift their ancestral livelihoods to survive.
A 2025 study found a long-term increase in both temperature and rainfall in the southeastern part of the country.
The study, based on more than 30 years of climate data from four weather stations in the region, said the weather pattern in the region is becoming increasingly erratic, with rising instability in seasonal rainfall and temperature trends.
Data on weather patterns showed that both rainfall and cold waves during the salt production season have increased. Data from the Center for People and Environ (CPE), a nonprofit research organization based in Dhaka, showed that rainfall days during the season increased from 16 in 2021 to 18 in 2022, 21 in 2023 and peaked at 25 in 2024 in salt farming areas. A similar change is seen in cold wave days, which rose from 7 in 2021 to 11 in 2022, surged to 18 in 2023 and then declined to 12 in 2024, reflecting an erratic pattern.
Salt production follows a step-by-step process. Salt farming depends on dry weather, strong sunlight and heat. To start with, farmers make beds by leveling the land and covering the pans with a black polythene sheet. Then, seawater is channeled through a series of six to seven pans, gradually increasing in salinity at each stage. At the final pan, after seven to 10 days, salt crystals form as the water evaporates. The white salt is then collected and stored in designated pits.
But now, at the start of the season, farmers face prolonged fog and cold waves. In November, December and January, thick fog often remains over the beds until late morning, blocking sunlight and slowing evaporation. The fog and cold waves have reduced production as the sunlight fails to dry the water properly.
“Cold waves and fog reduce sunlight, keep temperatures low and increase humidity, which slows down evaporation and delays salt formation,” said Rajib Ahmed, a worker in the salt sector from Banskhali’s Chanua area.
Later, the threats shift to rain by April and May. When rainwater enters the beds, the salinity is lost. Farmers have to drain the field and start over. Each restart requires draining water, repairing boundaries, smoothing the surface, and refilling with seawater. The process can take three to five days. For one rain, a farmer loses nearly a week.
For example, in the 2023-24 season, the continuous rainfall between Dec. 5 and 8 damaged the salt fields. The following 2024-25 season saw a similar setback with rainfall on Nov. 22 and Dec. 23 once again disrupting production, as per data from Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation’s (BSCIC) salt unit.
Another farmer Abser Uddin was at his salt farm after overnight rain.
“The problem isn’t just one rain. Fog and cold waves delay the start; rain interrupts the middle of the season and ending. So, it is that the whole season has become uncertain for us,” said Abser, who has been engaged in the sector since 2008. “We face such damage every season. We have no alternative to protect us from weather-related damage.”
Zafor Iqbal Bhuian, deputy general manager of the BSCIC Salt unit, said, “The salt production season is no longer as predictable as it used to be due to climate change.”
“Now there is sudden rain and cold waves. As a result, people in the sector are more worried about weather conditions than the price of the salt,” he said.
Muhammad Abdur Rahaman, director of the CPE, said, “Winter rainfall, once rare in our country, is now inundating salt fields, pushing farmers into losses. Cold waves are also slowing the crystallization process, as reduced sunlight delays evaporation. On the other hand, rainfall during April, typically the peak production period, is further disrupting output. Together, these adverse weather patterns are emerging as a new threat to the salt sector.”
Season shrinking, losses increasing
The salt production season runs from November to May, as per BSCIC data.
But field data from BSCIC showed that a significant portion of this time is now lost to weather disruption. For example, Cyclone Mocha on May 13, 2023, ended the salt production season 17 days earlier.
“The season has been reduced from seven months to six or five and a half months. The season reduction also brought down salt production,” said Aminul Islam, secretary of the Cox’s Bazar Salt Farmers Association.
He said salt production is still increasing as more areas are coming under salt farming. Due to this, the overall production continues to rise.
“But an unseasonal rain not only destroys the salt we have already produced, but it also sets us back by another seven to eight days to restart production. That means we are losing production days,” said Faridul Alam, a farmer from Chanua area under Banskhali sub-district of Chittagong.
The adverse weather has pushed many salt farmers into debt. Even though they got a good price, huge numbers of farmers are still in debt due to damage from salt and erratic weather.
Farmer Nasir Uddin said, “This is my family profession. For this reason, I am still in this profession amid losses. However, I am exhausted from this burden and am deciding whether to quit.”
Nasir said he is now in a debt of nearly 200,000 takas ($1,629) as he has incurred continuous losses over the past four years.
“If we lose one cycle, we can stay alive. But our losses continue, our debt increases,” he added.
As per BSCIC data, at least 25 days were lost to weather disruption in 2021-22, 20 days in 2022-23, 22 days in 2023-24, while 2024-25 recorded the highest loss at nearly 27 days. That means a significant number of days are being lost every season.
BSCIC officials said the country’s salt production operates close to national demand. For this, any shortfall can affect supply and market stability.
The salt production target for the current season has been set at 2.81 million metric tons, while the annual demand stands at around 2.73 million metric tons.
Bhuian, from the BSCIC salt unit, said the target won’t be met this season (2025-26) due to the dominance of erratic weather events. To meet domestic demands, the government may have to import.
Back in Kutubdia, Nasir was still draining water from his salt beds as the sun began to return. The broken beds will take days to fix, but the season is almost over. For him, the fight is no longer just about making salt, it’s about coping with a season that no longer behaves as it once did.
Banner image: A farmer collects dried salt from his field, carefully filling baskets to store them in nearby pits for processing. Image by Sifayet Ullah, taken from Ali Akbar Dail area of Kutubdia.
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Citation:
Suhan, S. I., & Adhikary, S. K. (2025). Exploring Climate Change Trends in Temperature and Rainfall Across the Southeastern Coastal Area of Bangladesh. Journal of Engineering Science. 15(2), 51–67. doi:10.3329/jes.v15i2.82162
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