In October 2021, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) undertook India’s first-of-its-kind district-level climate vulnerability assessment report titled ‘Mapping India’s Climate Vulnerability: A District-Level Assessment’. As per the report, more than 80 percent of India’s population lives in districts that are highly vulnerable to extreme hydro-metrological disasters.
- CEEW has presented a Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI) of States and Union Territories (UTs) by mapping exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to map critical vulnerabilities and enhance climate resilience.
Key Findings of the Assessment:
i.Vulnerable Zones: The southern zone of India is found to be the most vulnerable to extreme climate events and their compounding impacts, followed by the eastern, western, northern, north-eastern, and central zones.
- 59 percent of the total districts in the eastern zones and 41 percent of western zones are highly vulnerable to extreme cyclone events.
- Exception: The central zone is the only zone in India with no hotspots for extreme cyclone events.
ii.Adaptive Capacity: South, North, North-East, West and Central (5 out of 6 zones in India) have a low adaptive capacity to extreme hydro-metrological disasters, whereas the Eastern Zone has a medium-range adaptive capacity.
iii.As per CVI, Assam, Andhra Pradesh (AP), Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Bihar are highly vulnerable to extreme climate events such as floods, droughts, and cyclones.
Top 5 climate-vulnerable states in India:
| State | Overall CVI Score | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Assam | 0.616 | 1 |
| AP | 0.483 | 2 |
| Maharashtra | 0.478 | 3 |
| Karnataka | 0.465 | 4 |
| Bihar | 0.448 | 5 |
iv.Dhemaji, Khamman, Gajapati, Vizianagaram, Sangli, Nagaon, Chennai, Madhepura were listed as the very high vulnerable hotspot districts.
- 463 out of 640 districts in India are vulnerable to extreme floods, droughts and cyclones.
v.Out of 35 states and UTs, 27 are highly vulnerable to extreme hydro-metrological disasters and their compounded impacts.
vi.The frequency and intensity of extreme climate events in India have increased by almost 200 percent since 2005.
Note – India is a tropical country with frequent cyclonic disturbances and monsoon-related extremes. It is the 7th-most vulnerable country with respect to climate extremes (as per Germanwatch 2020).
Recent Related News:
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released a report on the latest climate science information named ‘United in Science 2021’. As per the report, the COVID-19 caused only a temporary decline in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2020.
About Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW):
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
Founder-CEO – Arunabha Ghosh
