SYLLABUS

GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment 

Context: India ranks ninth among the countries most severely affected by extreme weather events between 1995 and 2024, according to the Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2026 released by Germanwatch.

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• The analysis was presented at the ongoing COP30 in Belem, Brazil. 
• All of the top ten countries on the list are in the Global South.
• The last time this index was prepared was in 2023, when India was ranked eighth. 
• The CRI is calculated based on the economic and human effects of extreme weather events.
• Higher the rank, the worse a country has been affected by extreme weather events attributable to human-induced climate change.
• The index only analyses rapid onset events like floods, storms, extreme temperatures, wildfires, and glacial lake outbursts, and floods. 
• It does not include slow onset events like rising mean temperatures, sea level rise, ocean acidification, glacial retreat, etc.

Key Findings 

• The index records over 9,700 extreme weather events between 1995 and 2024, with more than 8.32 lakh lives were lost and over US $ 4.5 trillion in direct damage, adjusted for inflation.
• At the top of the index for the period 1995–2024 is Dominica, a very small Caribbean Island nation that has been hit by devastating hurricanes several times.
   o Myanmar ranks second.
• Around 40% of all people worldwide, over three billion, currently live in the 11 countries that have been most severely affected by extreme weather events such as heat waves, storms, and floods over the past 30 years.  
• Flooding was the worst disaster overall, affecting almost 50 million people globally in 2024, followed by heat waves (33 million) and droughts (29 million).

India’s Climate Risk Profile: 

• According to the CRI analysis, India is highly affected by recurring extreme weather events, which have, over the years, affected both people and the economy.
• In the last three decades, India faced around 430 extreme weather events like floods and landslides, heat waves, cyclones, and droughts.
• These events affected more than a billion people in the country and resulted in inflation-adjusted losses of around $170 billion.
• More than 80,000 people were reported killed in these events.
• In terms of the number of people most affected by extreme weather in 2024, India ranked third, behind Bangladesh and the Philippines.
• The monsoon of 2024 was especially devastating for India, affecting more than 8 million people, mainly in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tripura.
• The report placed India, the Philippines, Nicaragua, and Haiti in the “continuous threats” category, meaning these countries face repeated and frequent extreme weather events.
• This contributes to India’s high long-term ranking because losses accumulate over time with repeated disasters.

Sources:
Down to Earth
The Wire