9 states in top 50 regions at risk of climate change hazards: Report

Nine states in India are among the world’s top 50 regions at risk of damage to the built environment from eight climate change hazards, according to a new report.

Highly developed and globally significant Asian economic hubs in the top 100 for damage risk include Beijing, Jakarta, Hồ Chí Minh City, Taiwan and Mumbai.

The Indian states figure in Cross Dependency Initiative (XDI), part of the Climate Risk Group has released a first pass analysis of ‘Gross Domestic Climate Risk’ (GDCR) calculating the physical climate risk to the built environment in over 2,600 territories around the world in 2050.

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Asia dominates the list of provinces at risk with more than half (114) of the top 200 in 2050 in this region, with special focus on China and India.

According to the analysis, 80 percent of the top 50 most at-risk states and provinces in 2050 are in China, US and India. After China, India has the highest number of states (9) in the top 50, which include Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab and Kerala.

This is the first time there has been a physical climate risk analysis focused exclusively on the built environment, comparing every state, province and territory in the world.

“In terms of overall scale of damage risk, and in terms of risk escalation, Asia has the most to lose as climate change extreme weather increases, and the most to gain from preventing worsening climate change and accelerating climate resilient investment,” said XDI CEO Rohan Hamden.

According to him, it is crucial for companies, governments and investors to understand the financial and economic implications of physical climate risk and weigh this risk in their decision-making before these costs escalate beyond financial tipping points.

The XDI Gross Domestic Climate Risk ranking reflects physical risk to the built environment from eight climate change extreme weather hazards: riverine and surface flooding, coastal inundation, extreme heat, forest fire, soil movement (drought-related), extreme wind and freeze thaw.