Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Environment | Geography
Why in news?
A new German watch report, 'Climate Risk Index 2026', reveals worldwide extreme weather claimed over 8lakh lives between 1995-2024.
- It is an annual report that ranks countries based on the human and economic impact of extreme weather events, such as storms, floods, and heatwaves.
- First published in - 2006.
- Released by – German watch, an environmental think tank.
- Data Source – EM-DAT international disaster database, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank.
- Methodology – 3 Hazard Categories
|
Hydrological
|
Floods, glacial lake outbursts
|
|
Meteorological
|
Storms, cyclones
|
|
Climatological
|
Heatwaves, wildfires
|
- The index captures short-term impact (events from the year preceding publication) & long-term impact (cumulative data from the past 30 years).
- Indicators & Weightage
- Number of deaths – Weight: 1/6
- Number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants – Weight: 1/3
- Sum of losses in US$ in purchasing power parity (PPP) – Weight: 1/6
- Losses per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – Weight: 1/3
- Ranking – A higher rank indicates greater vulnerability and damage, often linked to anthropogenic climate change.
Key findings
- Top 3 Most Affected Countries – Dominica, Myanmar, and Honduras.
- Continuous threats category – India, Philippines, Nicaragua, and Haiti.
All of the top ten countries on the list are in the Global South.
- Total Global Impact – Between 1995 and 2024, more than 8lakh people were killed across the world as a direct result of extreme weather events caused economic losses to the tune of over $4.5 trillion.
- Trend – Vulnerable nations face recurring disasters with little recovery time, exacerbated by climate change.
India’s Position & Impact
- Rank – 9th most climate-affected country globally (Ranks 15 for 2024).
- Extreme Events (1995–2024) – Major events include heatwaves, floods, cyclones, intense monsoons, landslides, and droughts.
- Over 1 billion people affected, more than 80,000 fatalities reported which resulted in inflation-adjusted losses of around $170 billion.
- Nature of Risk – India faces compound and continuous risks, with events like Cyclone Amphan (2020) and the 2024 monsoon floods highlighting systemic vulnerabilities.
References
- The Hindu | Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2026 report
- Germanwatch | Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2026 report
