India Among Top 10 Nations Impacted by Extreme Weather Events, Report Reveals

India ranks sixth among the top ten countries most affected by extreme weather events from 1993 to 2023, suffering over $180 billion in losses and more than 80,000 fatalities. Major disasters include severe floods and heatwaves, with global impacts yielding 765,000 deaths and over $4.2 trillion in economic losses. The report advocates for enhanced financial support for vulnerable nations.

According to a recent report, India ranks sixth among the ten countries most severely impacted by extreme weather events in the last three decades, specifically from 1993 to 2023. The nation has been plagued by devastating floods and heatwaves, with more than 400 significant incidents reported, resulting in total economic losses of $180 billion and over 80,000 fatalities, as estimated by the Climate Risk Index (CRI) published by Germanwatch, a non-profit organization.

The report identifies several catastrophic events, including the floods in 1993, 1998, and 2013, as well as severe heatwaves in 2002, 2003, and 2015. Notable disasters like the cyclones affecting Gujarat and Odisha in 1998 and 1999, respectively, alongside more recent cyclones in 2014 and 2020, further illustrate the ongoing climate challenges. The intensity of heatwaves reaching temperatures near 50°C has also resulted in significant fatalities across various years.

Globally, over 765,000 deaths and more than $4.2 trillion in economic losses have been attributed to extreme weather events, mirroring Germany’s entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The most deadly hazards identified included storms, heatwaves, floods, droughts, and wildfires over the past thirty years, underscoring the severe impact of climate change worldwide.

The CRI report also highlights the extreme weather events of 2022, where countries such as Pakistan, Belize, and Italy were most affected, followed by Greece, Spain, and Puerto Rico. The report indicates that heatwaves were the leading cause of fatalities in 2022, with substantial impacts across several European nations including Italy, Greece, and Spain.

According to the report’s findings from 1993 to 2022, five out of the ten most affected countries, including India, belong to the lower middle-income group. The rankings for 2022 further indicate that only two of the ten most affected countries, Pakistan and Nigeria, were from the lower middle-income group, while the remaining featured several high-income nations, predominantly located in Europe.

The report advocates for increased financial support for vulnerable countries, emphasizing their disproportionate suffering from climate change due to limited resources for adaptation and resilience-building. “Most vulnerable countries are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change partly due to their limited financial and technical capabilities to adapt and manage losses and damages,” stated Lina Adil, a Policy Advisor at Germanwatch.

The report underscores India’s significant vulnerability to extreme weather events, highlighting a long history of disasters leading to substantial economic losses and fatalities. Overall, it calls for increased financial responsibility and mitigation efforts to support affected nations, particularly those in lower income brackets, to better manage the consequences of climate change and limit future losses.

Original Source: www.downtoearth.org.in