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India - Climate Change

Climate change refers to a statistically significant variation in either the mean state of the climate or in its variability, persisting for an extended period (typically decades or longer). Climate change is a major challenge for developing countries like India that face large scale climate variability and are exposed to enhanced risks from climate change. Few countries in the world are as vulnerable to the effects of climate change as India is with its vast population that is dependent on the growth of its agrarian economy, its expansive coastal areas and the Himalayan region and islands.

The Indian subcontinent is among the world's most disaster prone areas. The effects of global warming are difficult to quantify because of the complicated relationships between air temperature, precipitation quantity and pattern, vegetative cover and soil moisture. However, it is likely that the frequency, intensity and duration of storms and other extreme weather events could increase. Almost 85% of India’s area is vulnerable to one or multiple hazard. 23 States and Union Territories covering 45.64 million hectares of land are subject to floods, and are prone to flood disasters. The occurrence of flash floods, extreme weather events, droughts etc. has increased in frequency and become more unpredictable.

Increases in temperature and seasonal variability in precipitation are expected to result in more rapid recession of Himalayan glaciers. In fact, the Gangotri glacier is already retreating at a rate of 30 metres a year. An increase in rainfall is simulated over the eastern region of India but the northwestern deserts may see a small decrease in the absolute amount of rainfall. Warmer and wetter conditions would increase the potential for a higher incidence of heat-related and infectious diseases. The incidence and extent of vector-borne diseases, which are significant causes of mortality and morbidity in tropical Asia, are likely to spread into new regions on the margins of present endemic areas as a result of climate change.

India accounts for 2.4% of the world surface area, but supports around 17.5% of the world population. It houses the largest proportion of global poor (30%), around 24% of the global population without access to electricity (304 million), about 30% of the global population relying on solid biomass for cooking and 92 million without access to safe drinking water,

Vulnerabilities in India differ among states, among regions and among different groups of people within the same region due to substantial variations in topography, climatic conditions, ecosystems as well as diversity in its social structures, economic conditions and needs of different communities.

The rural areas are highly prone to stress and pressures from natural resource exploitation. Agriculture is the source of livelihood for nearly two-thirds of the population in India. It is predominantly rainfed covering about 60% of the country’s net sown area and accounts for 40% of the total food production. Droughts and floods are frequent and the sector is already facing high degree of climate variability. The performance of agriculture sector has a direct bearing on food supplies and food security.

India has a long coastline of 7517 km including island territories, and encompasses total 73 districts in the 9 maritime states and 2 Union Territories. The coastal districts house 14.2% of India’s total population. India has been identified as one of the countries which are most vulnerable to the impact of accelerated sea level rise due to global warming.

Climate change is likely to have contributed to a 7 percent spike in the suicide rate in India over the last 30 years, a 2017 study concluded. India is experiencing a suicide epidemic, in particular in rural areas. More than 12,900 farmers killed themselves in India in 2012 - one of the highest figures on record. More than 300,000 farmers and farmworkers have killed themselves in the country since 1995, according to World Health Organization figures.

A 2014 study by researchers from Cambridge University's Department of Sociology and University College London's Department of Political Science found that India's suicide rate is highest in areas with the most debt-ridden farmers, who have smallholdings of less than 1 hectare and are producing cash crops like cotton and coffee - both of which are susceptible to price fluctuations on global markets.

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has found an increase of 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on an average day during the agricultural growing season was correlated with 67 more suicides than average in India - an increase of 7 percent. The study out of the University of California in Berkeley represents the first scientific research into links between changes in the climate and suicide in India.

More than 1,400 people were killed across India in 2018 after massive floods and landslides caused by torrential rains. India's interior ministry said that 1,459 people had died as of 03 September 2018. Severe storms have been battering wide areas of the country since June. In the southern state of Kerala, 488 people were killed after massive floods swept away their homes and inundated villages. The state government described the flooding as the worst in a century.

Infectious diseases have been spreading in the area due to deteriorating hygiene conditions, killing 40 people so far. The Indian government has dispatched medical teams there. In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, 256 people were killed in massive floods. Torrential rains inflicted damages in 10 states.

Indian military forces conducted rescue operations and transporting relief supplies. Indian weather officials saidthe rainfall for the entire country is close to the usual amount, but that it was concentrated in certain areas. They called on people to stay alert for downpours.

Lightning strikes killed 147 people in just ten days in the north Indian state of Bihar, local authorities said 05 July 2020, an unprecedented surge in deaths caused by lightning that has been blamed on climate change. The latest deaths bring the number of those killed by lightning in the state to around 215 since late March, already surpassing the total number of deaths for the whole of last year. Lightning strikes are common in India during the monsoon season but the season in Bihar, which typically runs from June to September. The deadly trend has been blamed on rising temperatures caused by climate change. Elevated heat and excessive moisture are causing large-scale instability in the atmosphere, fuelling thunder and lightning storms.

India's summer season typically starts in April and continues until early July, regularly claiming scores of lives due to heatstroke and gastrointestinal infections. However, in 2022 the heat wave arrived by early March, in line with rise of average summer temperatures. In April 2022, northwest and central India recorded average maximum temperatures of 35.9 and 37.78 Celsius (96.6 and 100 Fahrenheit) respectively, the highest since the Indian Meteorological Department began keeping records 122 years ago. Experts said the heat wave could intensify in the days to come as temperatures could cross the 50-degree mark in north India. Weather trends show that May is usually the "hottest month" of the year in these parts. The long spell of unusually hot temperatures was accompanied by a power crisis in India, subjecting millions of people to hourslong power cuts. While critics accused the government of mismanagement, the steep rise in prices of imported coal due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict also had an impact. The country's hottest place was Banda in Uttar Pradesh, which recorded a temperature of 47.4 degrees Celsius (117.32 degrees Fahrenheit).