India faced 2 of 10 most costly climate disasters, damage worth over $10 bn

 

India is among the countries that are most vulnerable to the fallouts of climate change, and in 2020 it was hit by several extreme weather events.

Amphan, the super cyclone that hit India in May, and the floods that affected many parts of the country between June and October rank among the 10 most "expensive" extreme climate events the world saw in 2020, as per a recently released study. Put together, these 10 events caused damages of over Rs 10 lakh crore ($141 billion), 322 times higher than the annual budget of India's environment ministry.

Amphan, one of the strongest storms on record in the Bay of Bengal, with sustained wind speeds of 270 km per hour, hit both India and Bangladesh. The destruction caused by this cyclone cost both the countries--and Sri Lanka--around Rs 95,386 crore ($13 billion) in losses. The cyclone ranked fourth in the 2020 global list of climate disasters that resulted in widespread financial damages. Floods cost India around Rs 73,374 crore ($10 billion), and ranked fifth in the list.

The list is compiled by Christian Aid, a United Kingdom-based non-profit, and published in a report, 'Counting the cost 2020: A year of climate breakdown', launched on December 28.

India is among the countries that are most vulnerable to the fallouts of climate change, and in 2020 it was hit by several extreme weather events that are set to multiply in the future. And its poor are at most risk.

The Christian Aid report tracks 15 of the most destructive climate disasters of the year. Most of these estimates are based only on insured losses, and this means that the true financial costs would be higher. Together these climate disasters killed at least 3,471 people while displacing nearly 14 million.