Groundwater quality: Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a total area of around 144,000 square kilometres and lies within the Bengal Basin of South Asia. It is bordered on most sides by India, and by Burma in the south-east. Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon climate with a high annual rainfall of 1000–2000 mm or more, falling mainly during June–September. The wettest place in the world, Cherrapunji, lies just to the north of Bangladesh in the Meghalaya Hills of India. Around a third of the country floods annually during the monsoon season, a factor which hinders economic development considerably. Bangladesh has a large area of surface water in the form of the major Padma (Ganges), Jamuna (Brahmaputra) and Meghna Rivers and their tributaries. These originate in the highlands (including the Himalaya) of northern India and beyond. The land is mainly a flat-lying alluvial plain with hill country in the south- east (Chittagong Hill Tracts). Elevation varies from 1230 m in Keokradong (south-east) to sea level. Much of the land is within 5 m of mean sea level.