Losses caused to India doubled due to change in climate

Source(s): Live-Mint/Hindustan Times, HT Media Limited

By ​Jayashree Nandi 

Losses caused to India by extreme weather events more than doubled in the 10 years to 2017 from the previous decade (1998-2007), with the farm sector bearing the brunt, according to a new report published by Action on Climate Today (ACT), a UK-based initiative that works with South Asian governments to build resilience against climate change.

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ACT used data from Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT), which records natural disasters on a continuous basis, to suggest that economic losses to India from extreme weather events climbed to $45 billion in 2008-2017 from $20 billion between 1998 and 2007.

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Among the 328 events listed in the EM-DAT database between 1998 and 2017, almost half were floods, which were responsible for the highest economic losses ($45.7 billion), more than losses resulting from storms, landslides, drought and natural disasters.

The agriculture sector bore a major share of the economic losses, according to the report, which said that despite the existence of crop insurance schemes, banks absorbed the brunt of the losses.

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