Even twenty years ago, it was clear that large parts of the forest faced an imminent risk of inundation. However, these impacts cannot be ascribed solely to climate change-human interference with the landscape has hugely magnified the impacts of sea-level rise in deltaic regions throughout the world. Because of dams and barrages, as well as the extraction of oil and water, river deltas around the globe are sinking at three to four times the rate of sea-level rise. In the Sunderbans, there is the additional factor of cyclonic activity. The Bay of Bengal is a notoriously cyclone -prone region. Indeed the very word “cyclone” was coined in Calcutta in the 1840s by an amateur English meteorologist named Henry Piddington. Historically, Bengal, and the Sundarbans, have experienced some of the world’s most destructive storms. In 1737,a cyclone almost obliterated the city of Calcutta. This storm was accompanied by an earthquake and a storm surge reportedly of 40 feet -more than the 12 foot wave generated by Cyclone Nargis. Two other cyclones in the region killed hundreds of thousands of people-the Backerganj cyclone of 1970.The latter is thought to have killed as many as half a million people -it is reckoned to be the worst natural disaster of the 20th century. In recent years, advance warning systems and improved evacuation have hugely reduced the death toll exacted by cyclones. However, cyclones continue to exact a terrible cost, especially in the Sundarbans, since the mangrove forest is the barrier that protects the interior of Bengal by absorbing the main impact of destructive storms. When Cyclone Alia struck in 2009, the death toll was, fortunately, much lower that with earlier storms. But, the long term effects have been devastating many embankements were destroyed, and large stretches of once-fertile land were inundated with salt water. In the aftermath, there was a huge outflow of people from the region. One of the predicted effects of climate change is that it will intensify cyclonic activity-this means that the Sundarbans, and the Bengal delta, will be hit by many more devastating storms in years to come. [ Extracted from editorial by Amitav Ghosh “Climate change will hit the poor, but the rich will lose the most” ] [S.2, Q.1] The author mentions that climate change will intensify cyclonic activity in the Sunderbans & Bengali Delta will be hit by more devastating storms in years to come .Which of the following events support the contention.

• A. Cyclone Amphan originated in Bay of Bengal hitting the delta in 2020
• B. Land erosion and large stretches of once fertile land of Sunderbans being inundated with salt water.
• C. Sunderbans being declared as Ramsar site.
• D. All of the above