Over 3,000 persons died and more than 2,00,000 homes were destroyed due to extreme weather events in India during the first nine months of 2024, a report released by the non-profit organisation Centre for Science and Environment said on Friday.
The report, titled “Climate India 2024: An Assessment of Extreme Weather Events”, said that India faced extreme weather events on 93% of days, or 255 out of 274, in the first nine months of the year. In comparison, the country faced such events on 86% of the days, or 235 out of 273, in the same period last year.
Extreme weather events in the report were defined as lightning or storms, heavy rains or floods, heat waves, cold waves, cloudbursts, cyclones and snowfall events that caused deaths.
Data for the report was extrapolated using summary and forecast bulletins from the India Meteorological Department and situation reports from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ Disaster Management Division.
There were gaps in the data about extreme weather events, property damage and crop loss in the country, the report noted. In some cases, media reports conflicted with the Union government’s loss and damage reports, it added.
“It is very likely that even these reported damages are an underestimation due to incomplete data collection on event-specific losses, particularly on public property and crop damages,” the authors said.
The past nine months saw lightning and storms across 32 states and among the highest temperatures since 1901, the report said. Nationwide, 1,376 lives were lost due to floods this year.
A critical shift was needed in approaching climate disasters, the authors argued.
“Flood management, for example, requires more than plans on paper,” the report said. “It calls for the strategic development of drainage and water recharge systems, along with expanded green spaces and forests to act as natural water reservoirs in preparation for future storms.”
Additionally, climate reparations were necessary from high-emission countries responsible for severe human and economic losses, the authors said.
“This report is not good news,” Centre for Science and Environment Director General Sunita Narain said. “But it is a necessary warning, a call to recognise nature’s backlash and the urgent action required to mitigate it.”
She added: “Without combating climate change at a meaningful scale, today’s challenges will only worsen tomorrow.”
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