India has been ranked 9th in the list of countries worst affected by climate-related disasters in the last 30 years, according to the latest Climate Risk Index (CRI) report released by Germanwatch, a Bonn-based non-governmental organisation.
The last time this index was prepared, in 2023, India was ranked eighth. India’s rank has also improved in the list of countries worst affected by disasters in the previous year, from 10 in 2023 to 15 now. This could be due to a fewer number of disasters happening in India, but could also mean that the country has been steadily improving its resilience.
The report was prepared by analysing the present and historical climate data that are available in a public forum and was presented on the second day of the ongoing COP30 climate conference being held at Belém, Brazil.
According to the report, globally 8.32 lakh lives were lost between 1995 and 2024 due to extreme weather events, out of which India has recorded 80,000 fatalities, or nearly 9.6% of the global number. The report states that in the past three decades as many as 430 extreme weather events like droughts, cyclones, heatwaves, and floods were reported in various parts of India, accounting for losses worth 170 billion USD. “The country (India) has faced various extreme weather events including floods, heat waves, cyclones and drought. Floods and landslides resulting from heavy monsoons have displaced millions and have damaged agriculture, and cyclones have devastated coastal areas underscoring India’s diverse climate risks,” the report states.
“Notable events with high fatalities and/or economic losses include the 1998 Gujarat and 1999 Odisha cyclones, cyclones – Hudhud and Amphan in 2014 and 2020, the 1993 floods in Northern India, Uttarakhand floods in 2013 and severe floods in 2019. Recurring and unusually intense heatwaves all with temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius, claimed many lives in 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2015,” the report stated.
