India has seen a localized climate disaster almost every day in the first nine months of 2022, the Center for Science and Environment said on Tuesday, based on an analysis of data from the India Meteorological Department and the home union’s Disaster Management Division. ministry.The country experienced extreme weather events on 241 of the 273 days to October 1, claiming 2,755 lives, affecting 1.8 million hectares of agricultural land, destroying 416,667 homes and killing 69,007 livestock, the analysis found.
India is suffering severe losses and damages due to the climate crisis, said a report released ahead of the United Nations climate summit to be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt from 6. The data shows that “there is a need to demand damages from countries that have contributed to atmospheric emissions and are responsible for those damages,” the advocacy group said.
Central India saw the highest losses with extreme weather events recorded on 198 out of 273 days, claiming 887 lives, affecting 136,780 ha of cropland, damaging 28,032 houses and killing 7,519 animals. The northwest region experienced extreme weather events on 195 out of 273 days, killing 735 people, damaging 393,726 hectares of crops, damaging 5,122 homes and killing 1,707 animals, the analysis found. East and Northeast India experienced extreme events on 171 out of 273 days, claiming 783 lives, damaging 256,517 ha of cropland, destroying 318,676 houses and killing 55,399 animals. The peninsula experienced extreme weather events on 125 out of 273 days, killing 350 people, damaging 1.06 million hectares of crops, destroying 64,837 houses and killing 4,382 animals, the report said.
Madhya Pradesh had the highest number of extreme weather days, but Himachal Pradesh recorded the highest number of deaths at 359 due to extreme weather events. Assam reported the highest number of houses damaged and animal deaths. Karnataka, which has experienced an extreme weather event for 82 days since the beginning of the year, accounted for more than 50% of the affected crop area in the country.
In 2022, India recorded its seventh wettest January since 1901, according to the Met Office. It was the warmest March ever and the third driest in 121 years. Eastern and northeastern India experienced the hottest and driest July in 121 years. The region also recorded the second warmest August and the 4th warmest September this year.
“This is the watermark of climate change. This is not a single event, but an increased frequency of events – an extreme event we used to see once every 100 years has now started occurring every five years or less,” the report said. “What’s worse is that it’s all coming together now – breaking a new record every month. This in turn breaks the backs of the poorest who are affected the most and quickly lose their ability to cope with these repeated and frequent events.”
The impact of severe cold episodes and frosts is worse for crop damage, said Sunita Narain, director general of CSE, adding that the weather bureau’s ability to provide accurate forecast for cyclones saves many lives. Only three lives were claimed this year by cyclonic storms that destroyed 95,066 hectares of arable land.
The research organization has also launched the India Weather Disaster Atlas, an online public interactive database of extreme weather events that is updated every month. “We need to get a complete picture of extreme weather events. We have to count losses and damages more than disasters. We need to put a human face on the impacts of climate change to invest in risk and resilience. We must demand compensation for loss and damage from the countries responsible for the historical emissions in the atmosphere,” Narain said.
“There is a definite upward trend in extreme and very heavy rainfall during the monsoon months. It has not been quantified but an increasing trend has been documented,” said M Mohapatra, director general, Met office, in response to the CSE findings. An 18-member delegation from India headed by Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav will head to the climate summit. “There is no word yet on whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend COP27. Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav will address delegates and world leaders at COP27 on November 7,” an environment ministry official said on Monday, requesting anonymity.
COP27 stands for Conference of Parties 27, where parties refer to nations. The COP27 Presidency in Egypt will host the Summit of World Leaders on November 7 and 8. The conference is expected to be among the largest gatherings of climate stakeholders in history with more than 30,000 registered delegates. About 90 heads of nations are expected to attend. According to the BBC, US President Joe Biden and France’s Emmanuel Macron are expected to attend.
In light of the recent deadly floods in Pakistan and Nigeria, the prolonged drought in the Horn of Africa, the drying up of the Mississippi River and the US experiencing more than 15 extreme weather events, a financial tool to compensate for losses and damages will be crucial for the summit. discussion program, according to a media briefing by Climate Action Network International, a collective of climate NGOs. About 140 environmental organizations in the US wrote to John Kerry, the US special envoy for climate change, on October 24, urging him to agree on a financial instrument to compensate for losses and damages at the summit.
