In India, over 75% districts hotspots of extreme weather events, finds study

Context: The CEEW study found that in the last 50 years, the frequency of flood events increased almost eight times.

• Events associated with floods such as landslides, heavy rainfall, hailstorms, thunderstorms, and cloudbursts increased by over 20 times.
• Over 75 per cent districts in India, home to more than 63.8 crore people, are hotspots of extreme climate events such as cyclones, floods, droughts, heat and cold waves, according to a study released by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).
• This is the first time that extreme weather event hotspots in the country have been
• The frequency, intensity, and unpredictability of these extreme events have risen in recent decades – while India witnessed 250 extreme climate events in 35 years between 1970 and 2005, it recorded 310 such weather events in only 15 years since then, the study has pointed out.
• The CEEW study found that in the last 50 years, the frequency of flood events increased almost eight times.
• Events associated with floods such as landslides, heavy rainfall, hailstorms, thunderstorms, and cloudbursts increased by over 20 times.
• The frequency of floods surged significantly in the last two decades, it was found.
• Between 1970 and 2004, three extreme flood events occurred per year on an average, but after 2005, the yearly average rose to 11.
• The annual average for districts affected until 2005 was 19, but after 2005, on average 55 districts were affected by floods each year.
• In 2019, India witnessed 16 extreme flood events, which affected 151 districts. The study found that over 9.7 crore people are currently exposed to extreme floods in India.
• Six of India’s eight most flood-prone districts in the last decade—Barpeta, Darrang, Dhemaji, Goalpara, Golaghat, Sivasagar—are in Assam.
• The current trend of catastrophic climate events results from a mere 0.6 degrees Celsius temperature rise in the last 100 years.
• India is already the fifth most vulnerable country globally in terms of extreme climate events, and it is all set to become the world’s flood capital, as the number of rainy days during monsoon have decreased, single-day extreme rainfall events are increasing, leading to flooding.

Microclimatic zones shifting

• Microclimatic zones, or areas where the weather is different from surrounding areas, are shifting across various districts of India, the study has found.
• A shift in microclimate zones may lead to severe disruptions across sectors – every 2 degrees C rise in annual mean temperature will reduce agricultural productivity by 15-20%, it has found.
• Some reasons identified behind this shift in microclimatic zones is change in land-use patterns, disappearing wetlands and natural ecosystems by encroachment, and urban heat islands that traps heat locally.

About CEEW:

• The Council on Energy, Environment and Water, commonly known as CEEW, is a Delhi-based not-for-profit policy research institution.
• Some of CEEW's research areas include resource efficiency and security; water resources; renewable energy; sustainability finance; energy-trade-climate linkages; integrated energy, environment and water plans; and climate geoengineering governance.
• The think-tank advises the Indian government on environment policies.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/over-75-districts-hotspots-of-extreme-weather-events-finds-study-2-7100341/