Disaster deaths, sinking: Unprepared Kolkata face multiple climate risks, warns IPCC report

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“Significant warming of the Bay of Bengal region caters to the increase of high-intensity cyclones in Bengal coast, which, in turn, are likely to affect Kolkata significantly,” said Roxy Mathew Koll, a weather scientist and former author of IPCC report, to this reporter.

The eastern city is also highly vulnerable to extreme heat waves, according to the IPCC report. “On average, Kolkata will experience heat equivalent to the 2015 record heat waves every year.” In 2015, the heat wave killed 2,500 people in India. Kolkata, along with Delhi and Karachi, have high drought risk, the report said. 

The city may not be prepared to handle the crises, the report observed: Evidence from Kolkata demonstrates the limitations of resilience plans to address underlying conditions of vulnerability … under-provision of informal settlements, and spatial segregation of the urban poor.

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The drainage and sewage network in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area is sparse and not commensurate with its area of 1,851 square kilometres, a study undertaken earlier by the British Deputy High Commission observed.

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