NEW DELHI: India has improved its Climate Risk Index (CRI) rank from seventh worst affected country globally due to extreme weather events in 2019 to 49th in 2022. However, historically it remains among the top 10 most affected ones by figuring as the sixth worst in long-term (1993-2022) assessment.
The findings are part of the CRI 2025, released by environmental think tank Germanwatch Wednesday, that analysed six indicators including fatalities and economic loss due to extreme weather events reported in the countries during 1993-2022.
The report shows that India reported loss of 80,000 lives and nearly $180 billion in 400 extreme weather events in 30 years (1993-2022).
Globally, over 7,65,000 people lost their lives due to more than 9,400 extreme weather events in the 30 years until 2022. It caused economic damages totaling $4.2 trillion (inflation-adjusted). Storms (35%), heat waves (30%) and floods (27%) caused the most fatalities during 1993-2022.
The report, highlighting the consequences of globally increasing climate risks, shows seven of the 10 most affected countries in 2022 belonged to the high-income country group. “This clearly indicates that, while the coping capacities of high-income countries significantly exceed those of lower-income countries, higher-income countries should also increase their climate risk management,” the report said.
Italy, Spain and Greece are the three EU nations which are among the 10 most affected countries worldwide over the past three decades. Dominica, China, Honduras, Myanmar and Italy are the top five most affected in the list of 1993-2022.
The report comes days after WEF ranked extreme weather events amplified by climate change as the second most considerable global risk after armed conflict and war.
Referring to India, the report underlined that the country experienced devastating floods in 1993, 1998, and 2013, along with severe heat waves in 2002, 2003, and 2015. The country shows high absolute fatalities and economic losses, as well as high absolute and relative numbers of people affected during 1993-2022.
Notable events from India in the report include 1998 Gujarat and 1999 Odisha cyclones; cyclones Hudhud and Amphan in 2014 and 2020, respectively; 1993 floods in northern India, Uttarakhand floods of 2013, and severe floods in 2019. “Recurring and unusually intense heat waves, all with temperatures around 50 degree C, claimed many lives in 1998, 2002, 2003, and 2015,” it said.