India 7th most affected due to climate crisis in 2019: Report

NEW DELHI: India ranked seventh in the list of countries affected by the climate crisis in 2019 according to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021 released on Monday. India was preceded by Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Bahamas, Japan, Malawi and Afghanistan in the list of countries most affected by extreme weather events in 2019, the report by Germanwatch, a Bonn based environmental organisation said.

Altogether, between 2000 and 2019 at least 475,000 people lost their lives around the world as a direct result of at least 11,000 extreme weather events, which also caused losses amounted to around $2.56 trillion (on a PPP or in purchasing power parity basis to equalize the purchasing power of different currencies).

The report , released ahead of the Global Adaptation Summit hosted by The Netherlands on Monday, where UN secretary general Antonio Guterres called on developed countries and donor agencies to increase funding to developing countries to help them adapt to the climate crisis.

In 2019, the monsoon continued for a month longer than normal in India. The rain recorded was 110% of the long period average. Flooding caused by heavy rains was responsible for 1,800 deaths across 14 states and led to the displacement of 1.8 million people. Overall, 11.8 million people were affected by the intense monsoon season with the economic damage estimated to be $ 10 billion according to the report.

There were eight tropical cyclones in India in 2019. Six of the eight cyclones intensified to become “very severe.” Extremely severe cyclone Fani affected 28 million people, killing nearly 90 in India and Bangladesh and causing economic losses of US$ 8.1 billion, the report said.

Though not assessed by the Climate Risk Index in its latest report, India also recorded an above normal monsoon in 2020 with rain of 108.7% of the long period average.

India’s Statement on Climate of India 2020, released on January 4, 2021, said the country experienced extreme climate events such as extremely heavy rainfall, floods, landslide, thunderstorm, lightning, cold waves which killed hundreds of people last year also. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were the most adversely affected states during the year, with at least 350 deaths from each due to thunderstorms, lightning strikes and cold waves, according to that document.

Scientists said India could be heading towards an epoch of above normal rains in coming years. “In the past two years we have recorded above average rains which could mean a turning point. We could be transitioning to an epoch of above normal monsoon rains. That’s what multidecadal trends indicate. Due to global warming, there can be an increase in the number of extreme rainfall events,” said DS Pai, senior scientist, climate research and services at IMD, Pune responding to the report.

The index is based on data from the Munich Re NATCATSERVICE. The most recent data available for 2019 and from 2000 to 2019 was taken into account for the report. “The global Covid-19 pandemic has reiterated the fact that vulnerable countries are exposed to various types of risk, climatic, geophysical, economic and health-related , and that vulnerability is systemic and interconnected,” said Laura Schaefer of Germanwatch. “Strengthening the climate resilience of countries is a crucial part of this challenge. The Climate Adaptation Summit offers the opportunity to take an important step in this direction.”

MOZAMBIQUE, ZIMBABWE, BAHAMAS, JAPAN, MALAWI AND AFGHANISTAN PRECEDED INDIA