3 Bangladeshi Journalists Win 2026 Climate Awards
Three Bangladeshi journalists have been recognised at the 2026 Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards for reporting on climate displacement and the environmental costs of Bangladesh’s digital expansion.
In a Nutshell:
- Usraat Fahmidah and Rifat Anik won the Extreme Weather and Its Impacts category for Where Land Disappears, a multimedia story on women living with erosion and displacement in Banishanta.
- Shamsuddin Illius was part of the winning Large Projects & Collaborations entry Dark Side of the Boom, an international investigation into the environmental footprint of the data centre industry.
- The awards received more than 1,200 entries, with winners selected by a panel of 120 journalists from more than 30 countries and territories.
Context
Fahmidah is a Dhaka based independent journalist covering climate, gender, human rights and labour while Anik’s focus is on climate justice and community voices. Their winning story follows women in Banishanta, a southern riverbank village home to one of Bangladesh’s few registered brothels, where erosion and rising water are forcing residents to move inland. It documents how climate disasters are exacerbating existing vulnerabilities, with declining clients, mounting debt, social stigma and mental health pressures leaving many with little financial security or support. Illius, a journalist with The Business Standard, covers climate and environmental issues, particularly in coastal Bangladesh. His contribution to Dark Side of the Boom examines the electricity and groundwater demands of Bangladesh’s growing data centre industry and the limited information on its environmental footprint. The wider project brought together 14 newsrooms across 11 countries.
Why it matters
Their recognition reflects a climate journalism from Bangladesh that is moving beyond documenting disasters to investigate displacement, livelihoods, resource use and the consequences of development choices. Fahmidah and Anik are bringing the lived reality of a marginalised coastal community to a global audience, while Illius is highlighting the concerns around Bangladesh’s growing data centre expansion that are still not talked about, concerns over water, energy and environmental accountability. Having three Bangladeshi journalists among the winners is a notable milestone for the country’s climate reporting. Their stories are deeply rooted in local realities, but the issues they document, from climate displacement and mental health to the environmental costs of digital infrastructure, extend well beyond Bangladesh.