Climate Vulnerability Index

Climate Vulnerability Index: Relevance

Recently, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) has released a new report titled, ‘Mapping India’s Climate Vulnerability – A District-level Assessment’ where it has mapped various states and UTs on the basis of vulnerability to extreme climatic events.

It is a first-of-its-kind Climate Vulnerability Index that assesses the district-wise vulnerability.
It is supported by the India Climate Collaborative and Edelgive Foundation, and has analysed 640 districts of our country.

The report highlighted that 27 Indian states and Union territories are vulnerable to extreme climate events that often disrupt the local economy and displace weaker communities.
The report found that out of 640 countries analysed, 463 are vulnerable to extreme floods, droughts and cyclones.
India’s most climate vulnerable states: The states of Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Bihar are the most vulnerable to extreme climate events such as floods, droughts and cyclones.
India’s most climate vulnerable districts: Dhemaji and Nagaon in Assam, Khammam in Telangana, Gajapati in Odisha, Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh, Sangli in Maharashtra and Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
States in India’s northeast are more vulnerable to floods, while the ones in the south and central are most vulnerable to extreme droughts.
Along with Tripura, West Bengal is the third least vulnerable and Kerala the least vulnerable, despite being coastal states and prone to annual cyclones and flooding.

More than 80 per cent of Indians live in districts vulnerable to climate risks.
- 17 of 20 people in the country are vulnerable to climate risks, out of which every five Indians live in areas that are extremely vulnerable.
- More than 45 per cent of these districts have undergone “unsustainable landscape and infrastructure changes”.
183 hotspot districts are highly vulnerable to more than one extreme climate event.
More than 60 per cent of the districts have medium to low adaptive capacity in handling extreme weather events.
Only 63 per cent of Indian districts have a District Disaster Management Plan (DDMP).
- DDMP need to be updated every year, however, only 32 per cent of them had updated plans until 2019.

Most districts in India have been made particularly vulnerable due to “landscape disruptions” such as
- the disappearance of forest cover,
- over-construction, and
- degradation of wetlands and other natural ecosystems.

At COP-26, developed countries must regain trust by delivering the USD 100 billion promised since 2009 and commit to stepping up climate finance over the coming decade.
India must collaborate with other countries to create a Global Resilience Reserve Fund, which could act as insurance against climate shocks.
Developing a Climate Risk Atlas for India would help policymakers to better identify and assess risks arising from extreme climate events.
Our policymakers, industry leaders and citizens must use the district-level analysis to make effective risk-informed decisions.
Climate-proofing of physical and ecosystem infrastructures should also now become a national imperative.
India must create a new Climate Risk Commission to coordinate the environmental de-risking mission.
Finally, with loss and damage rising exponentially due to the climate crisis, India must demand climate finance for adaptation-based climate actions at COP-26.