New Delhi: As COP30 unfolds in Belém, a stark reminder emerges for India - the latest Global Climate Risk Index 2026 by Germanwatch ranks the country among the world’s top 10 most climate-impacted nations. The report highlights how recurring floods, cyclones, heatwaves, and landslides have made climate disasters an everyday reality for millions.
Over the past three decades, India has faced nearly 400 extreme weather events, leading to more than 80,000 deaths and economic losses exceeding USD 170 billion. From searing heat in the north to devastating floods in the east and cyclones along the coasts, each year brings new evidence of a crisis deepening in scale and frequency.
The report warns that developing nations like India are bearing the heaviest costs of a crisis they contributed least to. It coincides with the opening of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP30, which has launched its first call for proposals to help vulnerable nations recover from climate-induced destruction.
For India, the ranking is more than a number - it’s an urgent call to strengthen resilience, speed up adaptation, and ensure that global climate finance matches the scale of the threat already at its doorstep.
BI Bureau
