On July 14, 2025, in Kalabogi village—located in the Sundarbans mangrove forest along the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh—a woman uses pitcher, bucket, and a few other vessels to collect rainwater. This water will serve as her family’s drinking water for the next several months. People living in Kalabogi and the Sundarbans region suffer from a water shortage during the dry season due to increasing salinity in both the groundwater and the Satkhira River, caused by rising sea levels. Houses in villages like Kalabogi are raised on poles to avoid frequent tidal flooding. A 2016 World Bank report states that the climate crisis poses several threats to the Sundarbans, including rising sea levels and the growing frequency and intensity of storms. Satellite data shows the sea is advancing by up to 200 meters per year in parts of the region. Academic studies estimate that around 20 million people living along Bangladesh’s coast are affected by salinity in drinking water.