JOIN USA recent report has highlighted Asia’s extreme vulnerability to environmental threats. According to risk consultancy firm Verisk Maplecroft, of 100 cities that are at greatest risk to environmental issues such as air pollution and natural disasters, 99 are in Asia. Worryingly, 43 of these cities are in India. India and China account for 80 per cent of the 100 cities most vulnerable to environmental threats. The only non-Asian city to figure in the Top 100 is Lima, the capital of Peru.
The study scored 576 of the world’s largest cities on air and water quality, water scarcity, heat stress, vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change. It found Jakarta to be the riskiest city in the world on account of its severe air pollution, seismic threats, perennial flooding and heat waves.
Rising sea levels and land subsidence have added to the multiple pressures Jakarta faces. It is now the world’s fastest sinking city. New Delhi is the second most vulnerable to environmental threats, followed by Chennai at third place. Bengaluru is the 25th most vulnerable city in the list. Air pollution has contributed majorly towards putting Indian cities at risk; 19 of the 20 cities that are most at risk on account of their poor air quality are from India. Poor water quality is another reason for Indian cities being at risk.
Poor air and water quality, heat stress and natural disasters take a heavy toll on our health and well-being and cost heavily in terms of human lives. According to a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal last year, air pollution claimed over 1.7 million Indians in 2019; that was 18 per cent of all deaths in the country that year. Water pollution-related diseases cost India around $9 billion annually and claims the lives of around half-a-million people. Some of India’s most densely populated cities are located along its coast. The threat posed by global warming and rising sea levels is already being felt in these cities.
The study warns that climate change will enhance the magnitude and intensity of environmental threats. Given the immense vulnerability of its cities to these threats, India needs to work hard to address them. Most natural disasters are not possible to prevent although we can improve our preparedness for them. However, other environmental threats like toxic air and polluted water, as well as global warming, can be addressed.
Although massive funds have been allocated for cleaning up our rivers, it has not produced the desired results. Scientific approaches need to be adopted to reduce the magnitude of environmental threats facing India.