Rising heat, floods and cyclones: India faces a climate reckoning

By Raj Kumar Sinha* 

Extreme weather events in India are increasing rapidly, and they are no longer mere seasonal fluctuations but a serious threat to life, livelihoods, and economic stability. Heatwaves, floods, cyclones, droughts, cloudbursts, lightning strikes, storm surges, and glacial lake outburst floods in the Himalayan region have reached record levels in the past decade. The rising frequency, duration, and intensity of these events clearly reflect the escalating impact of climate change.

Between January and September this year, India faced extreme weather on 270 out of 273 days. During this period, 4,064 people lost their lives, 99,533 houses were destroyed, crops across 94.7 thousand hectares were ruined, and 58,982 livestock perished. Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of deaths at 532. In the past three years, extreme weather persisted for 241 days in 2022, 235 days in 2023, and 255 days in 2024, resulting in 2,755, 2,923, and 3,238 deaths respectively.

The Climate, Environment and Health Department of the World Health Organization states that air pollution alone causes nine million deaths globally every year, while 189 million people are affected annually by extreme climate-linked disasters. India has suffered more than 100 billion dollars in economic losses from extreme weather between 1990 and 2020. According to a recent Climate Risk Index by Germanwatch, India ranks ninth among the countries most affected by extreme weather over the last three decades.

The worst affected are fishing communities, coastal labourers, farmers, and daily wage workers. As per The Lancet Countdown 2025 report, rising heat is causing one death every minute globally and has wiped out nearly six percent of national income in poorer countries. A study published in Tropical Medicine and Health states that over 200,000 people die each year due to extreme heat in South Asia, a number expected to reach 400,000 annually by 2045—equivalent to 46 deaths per hour.

Life on Earth has always been mobile, but a new study by scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science reveals that human movement on the planet is now 40 times greater than the total movement of all wild animals, birds, mammals, and insects combined.

Another study published in the international journal Scientific Reports shows that sunshine hours have declined across much of India over the past three decades. Researchers from Banaras Hindu University, IITM Pune, and the India Meteorological Department conducted the analysis. Climate scientists associated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report that India’s average temperature has increased by about 0.9°C over the past decade (2015–2024) compared with the early 20th century (1901–1930). In western and northeastern India, the hottest day of the year is now 1.5–2°C warmer than in the 1950s.

The climate crisis has become one of the greatest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, with no relief in sight. The rapid acceleration of climate change in India is largely driven by continued dependence on coal-based thermal power, rising diesel and petrol consumption in transportation, and heavy use of fossil fuels in industry. Expanding concrete landscapes in fast-growing cities, shrinking green spaces, lakes, and wetlands, and the spread of high-rise buildings and industrial clusters are intensifying the “heat island effect.”

India urgently needs a coordinated and locally adaptable climate policy. Strengthening climate adaptation, creating a climate atlas for high-risk districts, and allocating budgets based on vulnerability are essential. Cities and villages must improve drainage systems, flood protection measures, heat action plans, rainwater harvesting, river restoration, and wetland conservation.

Solutions cannot rely solely on government policies; they require joint participation from local communities, panchayats, urban bodies, scientific institutions, and citizens. Action to mitigate climate change and address its impacts is imperative now, as the coming decade will be decisive for India. Building modern technology-based early warning systems and ensuring satellite-based monitoring in hill and coastal regions must be prioritized.

The urgency is undeniable—and delay will only deepen the crisis.

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*Bargi Dam Displaced and Affected Association