Country

Bhutan

Explore historical and projected climate data, climate data by sector, impacts, key vulnerabilities and what adaptation measures are being taken. Explore the overview for a general context of how climate change is affecting Bhutan.

Country Context

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked country with a surface area of 38,394 km2 located in South Asia bordered by China and India. The country has a GDP of 2.23 Billion (constant 2010 USD) with an annual growth rate of 8% and a GDP per capita of 2,801, growing at 6.6%. The country is considered a low middle income country by World Bank classifications; however, it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world supported by hydropower. Bhutan instituted a Gross National Happiness (GNH) as a development principle, as per this measure, the GNH index increased from 0.743 in 2010 to 0.756 in 2015. In 2015, 8.4% of people were deeply happy, 35.0% extensively happy, 47.9% narrowly happy (Gross Happiness Index, 2015). Bhutan had population of 798 thousand in 2016 that was growing at 1.3% annually; 60.6% of the population was rural and 39.4% lived in urban areas.

Adaptation priorities consider the countries high vulnerability to the impacts of climate change considering its fragile mountainous environment and dependence on agriculture and hydropower for economic development. Bhutan is also exposed to hazards such as flash floods, including glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF), forest fires, storms, and landslides. Adaptation priorities consider integrated water resource management, agricultural adaptation, forest management, electricity, transportation and health as key sectors for adaptation actions.

Country level data at a glance

Climate Data

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Historical Trends

The section provides access to historical climate datasets for both temperature and precipitation from 1900 to 2016.

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Projected Trends

The section provides access to future climate datasets for both temperature and precipitation and their statistical derivatives for various timeframes and emission scenarios from 2020 to 2099.

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The section provides access to future climate datasets for both temperature and precipitation and their statistical derivatives for various timeframes and emission scenarios from 2020 to 2099.

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Climate by Sector

This section contains information from multiple climate indicators and indices relevant for key economic sectors. Simple narratives can help you interpret and extract summaries of potential climate change impacts at the sector level.

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Vulnerability

This section allows you to explore the susceptibility of livelihoods and natural systems to impacts from climate variability and change and facilitate the exploration of socioeconomic and development data and its relationships with natural hazards vulnerable areas.

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Impacts

This section allows you to explore the climate information from multiple climate indicators and present them with simple, embedded interpretation for an informative, high-level summary of the potential for future climate change impacts on key socioeconomic sectors.

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Adaptation

This section helps you grasp key national adaptation policies and reports, explore options for key sectors, and understand current adaptation gaps and needs for enhanced climate smart planning.

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