What do you do when the land you live on disappears?

In Northern Bangladesh, just below the Himalayas, the roads are poor, and the environment is powerful. Every year, one-fifth of the country floods, cutting off entire villages and trapping children at home—unable to attend school.

But instead of giving up, a Bangladeshi architect, Mohammad Rezwan, found a way to adapt. He designed floating schools—solar-powered classrooms on boats that bring education to students no matter how high the floodwaters rise.

These schools are a climate adaptation success story. Could floating schools save education in other flood-prone areas?

1. Why Do People Need Floating Schools?

Bangladesh is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world.

Rising water levels flood villages every year.
Traditional schools shut down for months, leaving kids without education.
Millions of people risk losing their homes permanently.

Instead of moving away, people adapted. Architect Mohammad Rezwan designed floating schools, libraries, and healthcare centers—allowing life to continue, even in floodwaters.

How the Floating Schools Work:

Each boat is a fully equipped classroom.
Solar panels provide electricity for computers and lights.
Teachers and students use WiFi to access digital lessons.

The school moves from village to village, picking up students along the way.

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2. Floating Solutions for a Warming Planet

What happens when entire cities are at risk of flooding?

Rising sea levels aren’t just a Bangladesh problem—coastal cities worldwide are already sinking.

Some places are already testing floating solutions:

The Maldives is building floating neighborhoods to survive rising seas.
The Netherlands has floating houses designed for floods.
Jakarta is planning an entire floating district to protect its people.

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3. The Future of Climate Adaptation

Climate change is already causing:

Stronger storms & floods—destroying homes and schools
Sinking coastlines—forcing people to move inland
Freshwater shortages—affecting food & drinking water

Floating solutions—from farms to hospitals—might be the best way to adapt.

Fun Fact:

The Netherlands is building an entire floating dairy farm where cows live on water!