How are you, India?

A mega population in need of mega solutions, and a large landmass in need of even larger initiatives. This country faces a variety of climate change risks that must be tackled piece by piece.

People gather to rescue the affected people from flooded area in Pathanamthitta, Kerala

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Home to the world’s second-largest population and diverse ecosystems, India is prone to various risks such as rising temperatures, irregular rainfall patterns, and prolonged droughts.

Extreme river floods, in particular, are expected to affect an additional 13 to 34 million people by the 2040s and coastal flooding is expected to affect an additional 5 to 18 million people by the 2070s to the end of the century.

What do the experts say?

Learn more about the key disaster and climate risks experienced by this country by watching these special interviews and noting the information below.

https://youtu.be/A-A7mZFwKTI?t=312

According to the Global Climate Risk Index, 2021, India ranks amongst the top ten most affected countries in terms of fatalities and economic losses.

India is experiencing a US$ 87 billion annual average loss due to the impacts of extreme weather like tropical cyclones, floods, and drought.

Heat stress on the agricultural sector affects about half of the 1.2 billion people dependent on agriculture. Temperature increases and droughts in agriculturally significant regions can lead to a 1.8 % loss of GDP by mid-century.

An agricultural loss of US $7 billion due to droughts is estimated in India by 2030, and nearly 250 million people living along the coastline are susceptible to sea-level rise, cyclones, and tidal surges.

Owing to its large population, rapid urbanization, and industrialization, carbon emissions are increasing and they are increasing fast! Globally, India accounts for 7.1 % of CO2 emissions (kt) and 1.8 metric tons per capita. The majority of India’s carbon emissions result from electricity and heat production, agriculture, transportation, industry, and agricultural practices.

India is committed to fulfilling the NDC pledge of reducing the emission intensity of its GDP by 33- 35% by 2030 from 2005 levels. The country has also formulated a National Action Plan on climate change to promote climate change initiatives tailored to development.

Is this information sufficient?

Yes

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What do you need to know about India?

Bypass all the climate clutter and avoid tedious, lengthy web searches by taking note of the following short and important climate change figures for India: