‘Cyclone Amphan caused $14 bn economic losses in India’

Cyclone Amphan, which made landfall in May last year near the IndiaBangladesh border, was the costliest tropical cyclone on record for the North Indian Ocean, with reported economic losses in India of approximately USD 14 billion, a flagship UN report has said.

The 'State of the Global Climate 2020' report, released on Monday, said that extreme weather combined with Covid-19 dealt a double blow for millions of people in 2020.

However, the pandemic-related economic slowdown failed to put a brake on climate change drivers and accelerating impacts.

The year 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record, despite a cooling La Niña event. The global average temperature was about 1.2 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) level.

The six years since 2015 have been the warmest on record. 2011-2020 was the warmest decade on record.

"This is a frightening report. It needs to be read by all leaders and decision-makers in the world. 2020 was an unprecedented year for people and the planet," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said at the launch of the report compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

"Cyclone Amphan, which made landfall on May 20 near the India-Bangladesh border in the eastern Bay of Bengal, was the costliest tropical cyclone on record for the North Indian Ocean, with reported economic losses in India of approximately USD 14 billion," it said.

"Large-scale evacuations of coastal areas in India and Bangladesh meant that casualties from Amphan were far lower than the number of casualties from previous comparable cyclones in the region. Nevertheless, 129 lives were lost across the two countries," it said.

About 2.4 million people were displaced in India, mostly in West Bengal and Odisha, and 2.5 million were displaced in Bangladesh due to the cyclone, it added.

The report also noted that India had one of its two wettest monsoon seasons since 1994, with nationallyaveraged rainfall for June to September 9 per cent above the long-term average. Heavy rain, flooding and landslides also affected the surrounding countries.

More than 2 000 deaths were reported during the monsoon season in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Myanmar, including 145 deaths associated with flash flooding in Afghanistan in late August and 166 deaths associated with a landslide at a mine in Myanmar in early July following heavy rain.