Central Groundwater Board releases the 2024 Annual Groundwater Quality report

The Central Groundwater Board released the 2024 Annual groundwater Quality report in December 2024. This report presents the findings from the nationwide groundwater quality monitoring exercise based on a standardized methodology, following the newly established Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). Implemented across India in 2023, this uniform approach aims to establish a comprehensive baseline for groundwater quality, enabling targeted interventions to address emerging concerns.
 
Monitoring and Baseline Establishment: A total of 15,259 groundwater monitoring locations were selected nationwide to assess groundwater quality. These sites form the foundation for future evaluations, offering a clear baseline for ongoing monitoring efforts. To examine trends, 25% of the wells, identified as vulnerable to contamination based on BIS 10500 standards, were chosen for detailed analysis. Groundwater quality was sampled at 4,982 trend stations during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods to assess the impact of seasonal recharge on groundwater quality.
The objective of this report was to look into a wide spectrum of inorganic water quality parameters in groundwater used for drinking and agriculture purpose. These parameters consist of physico‐chemical parameters and trace elements.
 

Findings

Significant concerns have emerged from the analysis, particularly the high concentrations of nitrate, fluoride, arsenic, and iron in groundwater. Almost 20% of the samples exceeded the permissible limit for nitrate, while 9.04% of samples had fluoride levels above the limit. Arsenic contamination was found in 3.55% of samples.

Regional Variability and Seasonal Trends: Groundwater quality varies considerably across India. In certain states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Jammu and Kashmir, 100% of the water samples met the BIS standards. In contrast, states like Rajasthan, Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh faced widespread contamination. Interestingly, the monsoon season showed some improvement in water quality, particularly in areas affected by high electrical conductivity (EC) and Fluoride. Post-monsoon, a modest reduction in EC levels and Fluoride was observed in some regions, indicating that monsoon recharge can temporarily improve water quality by diluting salts. However, certain districts such as Barmer and Jodhpur (Rajasthan) showed a rising trend in EC levels, signalling a deeper issue of groundwater salinization.

Hydrochemical Facies and Salinization: In terms of cation chemistry, calcium dominates the ion content, followed by sodium and potassium. For anions, bicarbonate is the most prevalent, followed by chloride and sulfate. This cation-anion distribution further highlights the role of bicarbonate in contributing to high alkalinity levels, which can exacerbate sodicity when coupled with high sodium concentrations. States like Rajasthan and Gujarat face high chloride concentrations due to the natural hydrochemical processes at play and Na-Cl type formations are prevalent. Over long periods, the aquifers have undergone repeated cycles of wetting and drying. During these cycles, highly soluble Na-Cl salts become concentrated in the aquifers. When groundwater levels drop, these salts become encrusted in the alluvium bed. Upon precipitation or recharge during the monsoon, these encrusted salts re-dissolve into the groundwater, enriching the chloride concentration and contributing to the increasing salinity levels.

Nitrate Contamination: States like Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra have some of the highest incidences of nitrate contamination, with over 40% of water samples exceeding the permissible limit. This is primarily linked to agricultural runoff and overuse of fertilizers.

Fluoride Contamination: Fluoride concentrations exceeding the permissible limit are a major concern in Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Although the monsoon season led to some improvement in fluoride levels in these states, the overall contamination levels remain alarmingly high.

Arsenic contamination: Elevated arsenic levels (>10 ppb) were found in several states, particularly in the floodplains of the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers. This includes regions of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Manipur, as well as areas in the Punjab, and Rajnandgaon district in Chhattisgarh.

Uranium Contamination: A notable concern in the groundwater quality report is the elevated levels of uranium in several regions. 42% of samples with uranium concentrations exceeding 100 ppb came from Rajasthan, and 30% from Punjab, indicating regional hotspots of uranium contamination. Moreover, groundwater samples with uranium concentrations greater than 30 ppb were clustered in areas identified as over-exploited, critical, and semi-critical groundwater stress zones, such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. This overlap points to the exacerbating effect of over-exploitation and deepening water levels on uranium contamination in these regions.
 

India State of Forest Report 2023 Released

On December 21, 2024, the Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav, released the ‘India State of Forest Report 2023 (ISFR 2023). The ISFR is brought out by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) on a biennial basis since 1987. FSI carries out in-depth assessment of the forest and tree resources of the country based on interpretation of Remote Sensing satellite data and field based National Forest Inventory (NFI), and the results are published in the ISFR. The India State of Forest Report 2023 is 18^th such report in the series.

 

The report contains information on forest cover, tree cover, mangrove cover, growing stock, carbon stock in India’s forests, instances of forest fire, Agroforestry, etc. To present a detailed picture of the forest health at country level, special thematic information on forest cover and important characteristics of forests have been reported in the ISFR. As per the present assessment, the total Forest and Tree cover is 8,27,357 sq km, which is 25.17 percent of the geographical area of the country. The Forest Cover has an area of about 7,15,343 sq km (21.76%) whereas the Tree Cover has an area of 1,12,014 sq km (3.41%).

 

MAJOR FINDINGS

• The Forest and Tree cover of the country is 8,27,357 sq km which is 25.17% of the geographical area of the country, consisting of 7,15,343 sq km (21.76%) as forest cover and 1,12,014 sq km (3.41%) as tree cover.
• As compared to the previous assessment of 2021, there is an increase of 1445 sq km in the forest and tree cover of the country which includes 156 sq km increase in the forest cover and 1289 sq km increase in tree cover.
• Top four states showing maximum increase in forest and tree cover are Chhattisgarh (684 sq km) followed by Uttar Pradesh (559 sq km), Odisha (559 sq km) and Rajasthan (394 sq km).
• Top three states showing maximum increase in forest cover are Mizoram (242 sq km) followed by Gujarat (180 sq km) and Odisha (152 sq km).
• Area wise top three states having largest forest and tree cover are Madhya Pradesh (85,724 sq km) followed by Arunachal Pradesh (67,083 sq km) and Maharashtra (65,383 sq km).
• The top three states having largest forest cover are Madhya Pradesh (77,073 sq km), Arunachal Pradesh (65,882 sq km) and Chhattisgarh (55,812 sq km).
• In terms of percentage of forest cover with respect to total geographical area, Lakshadweep (91.33%) has the highest forest cover followed by Mizoram (85.34%) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (81.62%).
• The present assessment also reveals that 19 states/UTs have above 33%  of the geographical area under forest cover. Out of these, eight states/UTs, namely Mizoram, Lakshadweep, A&N Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Manipur have forest cover above 75%.
• The total mangrove cover is 4,992 sq km in the country.
• The total growing stock of India’s forest and trees outside forests is estimated as 6430 million cu m, of which 4479 million cu m is inside the forests and 1951 million cum outside the forest area. There is an increase of 262 million cu m of total growing stock as compared to the previous assessment which includes an increase of 91 million cu m inside the forest and 171 million cu m outside the forest area.
• In the present assessment total carbon stock in country’s forest is estimated to be 7,285.5 million tonnes. There is an increase of 81.5 million tonnes in the carbon stock of country as compared to the last assessment.
• Regarding status on achievement of target under NDC related to carbon sequestration, the current assessment shows that India’s carbon stock has reached 30.43 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent; which indicates that as compared to the base year of 2005, India has already reached 2.29 billion tonnes of additional carbon sink as against the target of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes by 2030. 

UN Plastics Treaty Talks in Busan (INC-5) End With No Agreement

 The fifth session of the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5), aimed at developing a global treaty to end plastic pollution, concluded in Busan, Republic of Korea, on December 1, 2024, without a deal. Despite being slated as the final session, negotiators from over 170 countries remained gridlocked late on the final day, failing to agree on including measures to reduce plastic production.

Despite not meeting the aspirational timeframe, negotiations will continue next year. Ambitious countries and observers feel that prioritizing a strong treaty is more valuable than settling for a weak agreement now, unlike the industry’s preference for voluntary commitments that exclude plastic production.

 

As in the previous four sessions, progress at INC-5 was obstructed by fossil fuel and plastics industry influence, compounded by the exclusion of rightsholders disproportionately impacted by plastic pollution. Frontline allies, Indigenous Peoples, and nonprofit organizations  were once again sidelined. Observers faced restricted access, with many negotiations held behind closed doors and some civil society members even removed from overcrowded rooms. 

 

Amid these roadblocks, demonstrations for a strong treaty throughout the week by civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and ambitious delegates reinforced the urgency of reaching a meaningful and binding agreement. These efforts highlighted the stark divide between a majority pushing for ambition and a minority of nations stalling on key issues such as production caps, toxic chemical regulation, and an equitable financial mechanism to support Global South nations disproportionately affected by the plastics crisis.

 

Ambition Grows for Turning Off the Tap

Despite pressure from a handful of petrostates, the majority of countries are rallying together for a strong treaty, with more than 100 countries backing Panama’s proposal to reduce plastic production, 95 supporting legally binding targets to regulate harmful chemicals, and over 120 nations calling for a treaty with robust implementation measures.

 

In a powerful show of solidarity, Rwanda, speaking on behalf of 85 countries during the closing plenary, brought hundreds of government delegates and observers to their feet with a rallying call to “stand up for ambition.” Throughout the week, civil society representatives urged country government delegates to demonstrate “courage, not compromise,” and ultimately, high-ambition nations rejected a weak treaty proposal that failed to address the root causes of plastic pollution. 

This INC also saw a record-breaking turnout—3,300 delegates total—representing governments and observers, reflecting the treaty’s growing importance on the global stage. 

 

Plastic pollution is far beyond a single-issue concern—it represents a truly global human health, social justice, environmental, climate, and wildlife crisis, and several governments recognized this urgency, making inspiring statements that revitalized the talks and kept momentum going.

 

Fossil Fuel Interests Loom Large

Representatives of the fossil fuel, chemical, and plastics industries once again overwhelmed the treaty talks. According to an estimate by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), 220 lobbyists attended INC-5, surpassing their presence at previous sessions and far exceeding the presence of scientists and Indigenous Peoples. Notably, 17 lobbyists were embedded within national delegations.

 

Industry knows this treaty could chart our future with fossil fuels and toxic chemicals, and thus seeks to greenwash and disrupt its way towards a weak outcome. After days of exclusion from the plenaries and petrostate efforts to stifle their voices, a protest by the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Plastics forced a rare opportunity for observers to take the mic.

 

Petrostate influence also enabled a small group of countries to stall progress on critical measures needed to address the harms of plastic pollution on frontline communities. As it stands, the draft text lacks a listing of chemicals of concern and includes numerous brackets and conflicting options, creating uncertainty about whether the articles will result in legally binding measures or voluntary commitments.

 

To counteract industry influence, members of Indigenous communities, frontline communities, scientists, and allies continually expressed the environmental justice impacts of plastic pollution starting from fossil fuel extraction to end pollution. Greenpeace activists boarded a petrochemical tanker in protest, calling for cuts to plastic production.

 

Take Action

INC-5.2 will take place in 2025, at a time and place yet to be determined. Leading up to this critical moment, we anticipate heightened industry interference and efforts from low-ambition countries to stall progress. However, Busan showed that a growing coalition of countries are willing to be courageous and tell the world to get on board with a strong treaty or to step aside. The energy and momentum are building to deliver a historic, global agreement.

 

Source: https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/

 

COP29 UN Climate Conference Agrees to Triple Finance

 The UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) closed on November 24, 2024, with a new finance goal to help countries to protect their people and economies against climate disasters, and share in the vast benefits of the clean energy boom.

With a central focus on climate finance, COP29 brought together nearly 200 countries in Baku, Azerbaijan, and reached a breakthrough agreement that will:

• Triple finance to developing countries, from the previous goal of USD 100 billion annually, to USD 300 billion annually by 2035.
• Secure efforts of all actors to work together to scale up finance to developing countries, from public and private sources, to the amount of USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035.

 

Known formally as the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG), it was agreed after two weeks of intensive negotiations and several years of preparatory work, in a process that requires all nations to unanimously agree on every word of the agreement.

"This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country,” said Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UNFCCC. “But like any insurance policy – it only works – if premiums are paid in full, and on time. Promises must be kept, to protect billions of lives. It will keep the clean energy boom growing, helping all countries to share in its huge benefits: more jobs, stronger growth, cheaper and cleaner energy for all.”

The International Energy Agency expects global clean energy investment to exceed USD 2 trillion for the first time in 2024.

The new finance goal at COP29 builds on significant strides forward on global climate action at COP27, which agreed an historic Loss and Damage Fund, and COP28, which delivered a global agreement to transition away from all fossil fuels in energy systems swiftly and fairly, triple renewable energy and boost climate resilience.

COP29 also reached agreement on carbon markets – which several previous COPs had not been able to achieve. These agreements will help countries deliver their climate plans more quickly and cheaply, and make faster progress in halving global emissions this decade, as required by science.

Important agreements were also reached on transparent climate reporting and adaptation. The agreement reached in Baku did not meet all Parties' expectations, and substantially more work is still needed next year on several crucial issues.

The finance agreement at COP29 comes as stronger national climate plans (Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs) become due from all countries next year. These new climate plans must cover all greenhouse gases and all sectors, to keep the 1.5°C warming limit within reach. COP29 saw two G20 countries – the UK and Brazil – signal clearly that they plan to ramp up climate action in their NDCs 3.0, because they are entirely in the interests of their economies and peoples.

A brief summary of other key achievements at COP29 follows below.

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement

A notable achievement of COP29 was the progress made on carbon markets. After nearly a decade of work, countries have agreed on the final building blocks that set out how carbon markets will operate under the Paris Agreement, making country-to-country trading and a carbon crediting mechanism fully operational.

On country-to-country trading (Article 6.2), the decision out of COP29 provides clarity on how countries will authorize the trade of carbon credits and how registries tracking this will operate. And there is now reassurance that environmental integrity will be ensured up front through technical reviews in a transparent process.

On day one of COP29, countries agreed standards for a centralized carbon market under the UN (Article 6.4 mechanism). This is good news for developing countries, who will benefit from new flows of finance. And it is particularly good news for least developed countries, who will get the capacity-building support they need to get a foothold in the market. 

This mechanism, known as the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism, is underpinned by mandatory checks for projects against strong environmental and human rights protections, including safeguards that ensure a project can’t go ahead without explicit, informed agreement from Indigenous Peoples. It also allows anyone affected by a project to appeal a decision or file a complaint.

Under the text agreed on Article 6.4, there is a clear mandate for the UN carbon market to align with science. It tasks the Body getting this market up and running to consider the best available science across all work going forward.

The work on carbon markets doesn’t stop in Baku. The Supervisory Body setting up the new carbon crediting mechanism has been handed a long 2025 to-do list by Parties and will continue to be accountable to them.

Transparency

Transparent climate reporting made big strides forward in Baku, building a stronger evidence base to strengthen climate policies over time, and helping to identify financing needs and opportunities. To date, 13 Parties have now submitted their first Biennial Transparency Reports (BTR) – due from all Parties by the end of the year. Andorra, Azerbaijan, the European Union, Germany, Guyana, Japan, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Netherlands, Panama, Singapore, Spain, and Türkiye have led the way on transparent climate reporting, and set an example for others to follow. The list of received BTRs is continuously being updated here.

In addition, all transparency negotiating items concluded successfully at COP29, with Parties expressing their appreciation for the timely completion of the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) reporting tools, the technical trainings, and the support provided to developing countries for reporting under the ETF that took place in 2024.

A total of 42 events were organized under #Together4Transparency, a UNFCCC collaborative initiative that promotes climate transparency with Parties and non-Party stakeholders. These events emphasized the vital role of transparency in preparing NDCs and net-zero pathways, as well as in recognizing climate action from non-Party stakeholders. Events included high-level sessions, mandated events and training sessions to prepare countries for their BTRs, as well as to equip technical experts for the upcoming review process.

The critical role of REDD+ was recognized through a £3 million pledge by the UK International Forest Unit to support UN Climate Change’s work over four years. This funding will bolster REDD+ activities in many countries, enabling the secretariat to create dedicated spaces for REDD+ experts to engage in technical dialogue. These efforts are expected to enhance the transparency and implementation of REDD+, in line with the Global Stocktake objective to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030. 

Adaptation

COP29 was an important moment for adaptation, with the delivery of several key outcomes. The COP decision on matters relating to the least developed countries (LDCs) contains a provision for the establishment of a support programme for the implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) for the LDCs. Parties extensively discussed the second five-year assessment of progress to formulate and implement NAPs, and will continue that in June 2025.

A High-Level Dialogue on National Adaptation Plans convened ministers from least developed countries and small island developing States, financial experts and international donors to address the growing urgency of climate adaptation. Their discussions focused on innovative financing, technical support, and accelerated action to meet the 2025 submission deadline for NAPs. The event concluded with a strong call to action to expedite NAPs and translate plans into tangible outcomes.

The outcome on the global goal on adaptation sets a clear path forward on the road to COP30 for the indicators work programme, providing a process for experts to continue their technical work before passing the baton to Parties. COP29 also launched the Baku Adaptation Road Map and Baku high-level dialogue on adaptation to enhance the implementation of the UAE Framework. Finally, the outcome raises ambition by agreeing to continue unpacking transformational adaptation moving forward.

COP29 took a decisive step forward to elevate the voices of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in climate action, adopting the Baku Workplan and renewing the mandate of the Facilitative Working Group (FWG) of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP). The adopted decision acknowledges the progress made by the FWG in fostering collaboration among Parties, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and underscores the leadership of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in addressing the climate crisis.

Gender and climate change

Countries agreed a decision on gender and climate change, extending the enhanced Lima Work Programme on Gender and Climate Change for another 10 years, reaffirming the importance of gender equality and advancing gender mainstreaming throughout the convention. They also agreed to develop a new gender action plan for adoption at COP30, which will set the direction for concrete implementation.

Civil society participation, children and youth

World leaders at COP29 were joined by civil society, subnationals, business, Indigenous Peoples, youth, philanthropy, and international organizations. More than 55,000 people attended COP29 to share ideas, solutions, and build partnerships and coalitions.

The decisions taken at COP29 also reemphasize the critical importance of empowering all stakeholders to engage in climate action; in particular under Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE). Parties recalled the importance of integrating ACE elements into national climate change policies, plans, strategies and action, and noted the secretariat’s compendium of good practices for integrating ACE elements into NDCs.

COP29 marked a significant milestone as dedicated spaces were created to ensure the meaningful participation of children within the Youth-led Climate Forum for the first time. Four children, including the youngest at just 10 years old, took on roles as moderators and speakers, engaging directly with Parties and observer organizations. Their participation highlighted the importance of inclusivity and intergenerational collaboration in driving climate action.

In parallel with the formal negotiations, the Global Climate Action space at COP29 provided a platform for governments, businesses and civil society to collaborate and showcase their real-world climate solutions. An overview and summary of these can be found here.

The High-Level Champions, under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, launched their 2024 Yearbook of Global Climate Action at COP29, showing that climate action by non-Party stakeholders, including businesses, investors, sub-national actors and civil society, is driving progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, and that their engagement is more crucial than ever.

India faced more extreme weather events and higher damages in 2024

On November 8, 2024, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, released its annual state of extreme weather report. According to the report, extreme weather events have been steadily on the rise in India.

In 2024, India faced extreme weather events on 93 per cent of the days in the year’s first nine months - 255 out of 274 days - marked by heat and cold waves, cyclones, lightning, heavy rain, floods and landslides. These events claimed 3238 lives, affected 3.2 mha of crops, destroyed 235,862 houses and buildings, and killed approximately 9457 livestock. The report pointed out that it was very likely that even these reported damages were an underestimation due to incomplete data collection on event-specific losses, particularly on public property and crop damages. All the statistics were worse than those of 2023.

 

The year 2024 also set several climate records. January was India’s ninth driest since 1901. In February, the country recorded its second-highest minimum temperature in 123 years. May saw the fourth-highest mean temperature on record, and July, August and September all registered their highest minimum temperatures since 1901. 

 

In the Northwest, January was the second driest, and July recorded the region’s second-highest minimum temperature. The Southern Peninsula saw its hottest February ever, followed by exceptionally hot and dry March and April, but with a 36.5% surplus in July rainfall and the second-highest minimum temperature in August.

 

In terms of event types, the first nine months of 2024 saw everything from lightning and storms - spanning 32 states and resulting in 1021 deaths -- to relentless monsoon rains, which led to flooding across various regions. In Assam alone, heavy rains, floods and landslides were recorded on 122 days, leaving large parts of the state submerged and communities devastated. Nationwide, 1376 lives were lost due to floods.

 

Madhya Pradesh experienced extreme weather on 176 days - the most in the country. Kerala recorded the highest fatalities at 550 (Wayanad landslides), followed by Madhya Pradesh (353) and Assam (256). Andhra Pradesh had the most houses damaged (85,806). Maharashtra, which saw extreme events on 142 days, accounted for over 60% of the affected crop area nation-wide, followed by Madhya Pradesh (25,170 ha).

 

Regionally, Central India faced the highest frequency of extreme events with 218 days, followed closely by the Northwest at 213 days. In terms of lives lost, the Central region had the most deaths (1001), followed by the Southern Peninsula (762 deaths), East and Northeast (741 deaths) and Northwest (734 deaths). Twenty-seven states and Union Territories saw a rise in extreme weather days in 2024, with Karnataka, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh each experiencing 40 or more additional days of such events. 

 

These record-breaking statistics reflect climate change’s impact, where events that used to occur once every century are now happening every five years or even less. This frequency is overwhelming the most vulnerable populations, who lack the resources to adapt to this relentless cycle of loss and damage.

 

While heatwaves claimed 210 lives, the data did not reflect the extended health impacts of prolonged high temperatures on the wellbeing of people in North India, including farmers and labourers, who endured intense heat with little means of relief. Similarly, the toll of severe cold snaps and frost on crop losses is not captured, highlighting the need for robust compensation systems for weather-induced losses. Without this support, farmers are pushed into debt, exacerbating their marginalisation and poverty.

 

The report also emphasised the need for climate reparations from high-emission countries responsible for much of the damage. Climate models are clear: extreme weather events are set to become more frequent and severe.

FAO Report Highlights Rising Vulnerabilities of Rural Poor Amid Climate Shocks in India

 The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organized a national-level dialogue on FAO’s report "The Unjust Climate" on 16 October 2024 in New Delhi. The dialogue focused on the multidimensional poverty and climate vulnerabilities in rural India, facilitated discussions and provided policy recommendations on addressing the adverse effects of climate stressors, including long-term changes in temperatures, on the rural poor, which is critical for reducing persistent and transitory poverty in India. 

India has made remarkable strides in reducing rural poverty over the past two decades. Headcount poverty rates have dropped dramatically from 42.5 percent in 2005/06 to just 8.6 percent in 2022/24, according to the latest estimates from the India Policy Forum (Desai et al. 2024). However, this success masks the growing challenge of transitory poverty. While many have risen out of poverty, a significant portion of the population has been pushed back due to unpredictable life events, particularly extreme weather events driven by climate change. 

 

FAO’s “The Unjust Climate” report highlights a stark reality: each year, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs),households headed by women in rural areas suffer significantly greater financial losses than those headed by men. On average, female-headed households lose 8 percent more of their income due to heat stress and 3 percent more due to floods compared to male-headed households. This translates to a per capita reduction of USD83 due to heat stress and USD 35 due to floods, totalling USD37 billion and USD16 billion respectively across all LMICs. 

 

If the average temperatures were to increase by just 1°C, women would face a staggering 34 percent greater loss in their total incomes compared to men. Considering the significant existing differences in agricultural productivity and wages between women and men, the study suggests that if not addressed, climate change will greatly widen these gaps in the years ahead. 

 

FAO analyzed socioeconomic data from over 100,000 rural households (representing more than 950 million people) across 24 LMICs. By integrating this information with 70 years of georeferenced daily precipitation and temperature data, the report examines how various climate stressors impact people's incomes, labour, and adaptation strategies, differentiating based on their wealth, gender, and age. 

Impacts differ not just by gender but by socioeconomic status, according to the data. Heat stress, or overexposure to high temperatures, exacerbates the income disparity between rural households classified as poor, who suffer a 5 percent greater loss (USD 17 per capita) than their better-off neighbours, and the figures for flooding are similar. Extreme temperatures, meanwhile, worsen child labour and increase the unpaid workload for women in poor households. 

 

Extreme weather also compels impoverished rural households to resort to maladaptive coping strategies. These may include reducing income streams, selling off livestock, and shifting spending away from their farms. These actions, however, exacerbate their vulnerability to long-term climate changes. 

 

Policy Recommendations 

The report suggests that addressing these challenges requires targeted interventions to empower various rural populations to engage in climate-adaptive measures. 

1. Anticipatory social protection: Scaling up programs that provide financial support ahead of extreme weather events can prevent households from resorting to adverse coping mechanisms, such as selling off productive assets or reducing food consumption. 

1. Workforce diversification: Investing in skills development and vocational training, combined with mentorship programs, can help rural poor households diversify away from climate-sensitive work. This would enhance their resilience to climate-induced income shocks. It also recommends linking social protection programmes to advisory services that can encourage adaptation and compensate farmers for losers, such as cash-based social assistance programs. 

1. Gender-transformative approaches: Tackling discriminatory gender norms that prevent women from participating in non-farm employment is crucial. Programs that address these barriers can unlock new opportunities for income diversification, benefiting entire households. Inclusive climate actions are embedded in FAO’s Strategy and Action Plan on Climate Change and in the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031, where tackling the impact of climate change is mainstreamed in efforts to achieve the four betters: better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life for all. 

1. Participatory agricultural extension: Encouraging group-based approaches to agricultural experimentation can help rural farmers adapt to changing climate conditions. These collective methods reduce individual risks and promote shared learning, improving resilience. 

1. Access to adaptive technologies: Public investment in promoting climate-resilient agricultural technologies is critical for supporting land-constrained households. 

Agricultural policies must address gender equality and women's empowerment and intersecting vulnerabilities such as climate change. An analysis of agricultural policies from 68 low- and middle-income countries done by FAO last year showed that about 80 percent of policies did not consider women and climate change. 

 

As India continues to progress in poverty reduction, addressing the vulnerabilities posed by climate change is essential. Targeted interventions that strengthen the adaptive capacity of rural households and reduce their exposure to climate risks are key to ensuring that poverty reduction gains are sustained. The findings of this brief provide critical insights for policymakers and development organizations as they seek to protect the most vulnerable segments of the population from the adverse effects of climate change.