India 2022: An Assessment of Extreme Weather Events Released

On November 1, 2022, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, released a report India 2022: An Assessment of Extreme Weather Events. The report has sourced its data from two key Indian government sources – the IMD and the Disaster Management Division (DMD) of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. In addition, it has scanned media reports to track the events, particularly in the pre-monsoon period when official data is sketchy. The media reports have also provided further information on the extent of loss and damage. 

 

Key messages:

·       A disaster almost every day: India has seen close to a disaster every day in the nine months of 2022 – from heat and cold waves, cyclones and lightning to heavy rains, floods and landslides.

·       Loss and damage under-estimated: These disasters have claimed 2,755 lives, affected 1.8 million hectare of crop area, destroyed over 416,667 houses and killed close to 70,000 livestock. This estimation of loss and damage is probably an underestimate as data for each event – including losses of public property or crop loss - has not been collated or estimated.

·       With an event every second day, Madhya Pradesh saw the highest number of days with extreme weather events, but Himachal Pradesh saw the highest number of human fatalities - 359 deaths. Madhya Pradesh and Assam witnessed 301 human deaths each.

·       Assam reported the highest number of damaged houses and animal deaths.

·       Karnataka, which experienced an extreme weather event on 82 days, accounted for more than 50 per cent of the crop area affected in the country. Madhya Pradesh, as per official records, did not report any crop area damage. This could be due to gaps in loss and damage reporting.

·       The central and north-western regions reported the highest number of days with extreme weather events at 198 and 195, respectively. In terms of human lives lost, central India topped the list with 887 deaths, followed by the east and northeast (783 deaths).

·       Warmest, wettest, driest: In 2022, India recorded its seventh wettest January since 1901. This March was also the warmest ever and the third driest in 121 years. It was also the country’s third warmest April, 11th warmest August and 8th warmest September since 1901.

·       Eastern and north-eastern India saw its warmest and driest July in 121 years. The region also recorded its second warmest August and fourth warmest September in 2022.

·       In terms of the ‘nature’ of the event, all types of extreme weather have been seen in the past nine months – lightning and storms were spread over 30 states and claimed 773 lives. Every day of the three months of monsoon – from June to August – indicate heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall in some parts of the country. This is why the flood devastation has not spared any region – in Assam, for instance, vast parts of the state were submerged leading to loss of lives, property and livelihoods.

·       Heat waves claimed 45 lives, but what is not captured in the official data is the impact of the prolonged high temperatures on people’s well-being in north India – from farmers to construction workers -- and how they coped with the intense and searing heat.

·       The good news is that fatalities because of cyclones were few – only two lives were lost according to available data from cyclones that destroyed 95,066 hectare in the country. This is because of the amazing work done by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on cyclone forecasting so that there is adequate warning to governments. It is also because state governments – particularly those in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal -- have improved their systems of disaster management.