India is among the ten countries in the world that have been most affected by climate disasters in the last three decades. According to the Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2026, a new report by environmental think tank Germanwatch, between 1995 and 2024, natural intolerable weather events on about 430 occasions in India have killed more than 80 thousand people and affected more than 1.3 billion people.
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India suffered a loss of Rs 14 lakh crore due to disasters
India has suffered an economic loss of about 170 billion dollars (about Rs 14 lakh crore) due to these disasters. This report was released on Tuesday at the COP 30 conference held in Belém city of Brazil. It said that incidents like increasing floods, cyclones, droughts and extreme heat in India underline the serious impact of climate change.
Frequent disasters, dwindling development gains
The report says that the situation in India is one of constant threat, that is, these incidents are no longer isolated, but are being repeated again and again. This is impacting development achievements and putting the livelihood of crores of people at risk. India’s large population and dependence on monsoon patterns make it particularly vulnerable. Reports show that every year crores of people are affected by severe weather in some form or the other.
80 lakh people affected by heavy rains and floods in 2024
In 2024 alone, heavy monsoon rains and flash floods affected about 80 lakh people in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tripura. Last year, most of the damage across the world was caused by floods and storms, which caused billions of dollars in damage globally.
Long list of disasters in India
Many disastrous incidents in India have been mentioned in the report. These include the 1998 Gujarat cyclone, the 1999 super cyclone in Odisha, the 2013 Uttarakhand floods and the deadly heat wave of recent years. All these events have raised India’s climate risk ranking.
Global situation of climate disasters
More than 9,700 extreme weather events were recorded across the world between 1995 and 2024, killing more than 8.3 lakh people and affecting 5.7 billion people. Total economic losses have been estimated at more than $4.5 trillion.
Top 10 countries affected by climate disaster
Dominica is at first place in this list, then Myanmar, Honduras, Libya, Haiti, Grenada, Philippines, Nicaragua, India and Bahamas.
Poor countries are most affected
The report said that developing countries are still most affected by climate disasters because they have limited resources for adaptation and rehabilitation. Germanwatch said El Nino conditions in 2024 made the weather more unusual, but the real cause was anthropogenic climate change that increased the intensity of heatwaves, storms and floods.
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Disasters have become the ‘new normal’
The report warns that these recurring disasters are now becoming the ‘new normal’. Due to this, the economic condition of poor and developing countries is weakening and there is a danger of poverty increasing.
Appeal to global leaders
Germanwatch said the report should be seen as a reminder to global leaders at COP30 to close the climate finance gap and step up efforts to reduce emissions. For countries like India, the report recommends prioritizing climate adaptation plans, early warning systems and protection of vulnerable communities.
