India suffered an income loss of U.S. $159 billion, 5.4% of its gross domestic product, in the service, manufacturing, agriculture and construction sectors due to extreme heat in 2021, according to a new report.
Heat exposure in the country led to the loss of 167 billion potential labour hours, a 39% increase from 1990–1999, said the Climate Transparency Report 2022 compiled by an international partnership of organisations. Labour productivity in India is projected to decline by 5% from the 1986–2006 reference period if global temperatures rise by 1.5°C, it said.
The decline in productivity will be 2.1 times more if global temperatures rise by 2.5°C, and 2.7 times at a 3°C scenario. Between 2016 and 2021, extreme events such as cyclones, flash floods, floods, and landslides damaged crops in over 36 million hectares, a $3.75 billion loss for farmers in the country, the report said. The annual damage from flooding in the country is likely to increase by 49% at 1.5°C of warming.
The damage from cyclones will rise 5.7%. “The annual expected damage from tropical cyclones and river flooding at 3°C is 4.6 to 5.1 times that from 1.5°C,” the report said. “Precipitation is projected to increase by 6% from the reference period, at 1.5°C of warming. Under a 3°C warming scenario, precipitation will increase three times that anticipated at 1.5°C.”
The rainfall pattern in India has changed in the past 30 years, hurting many economic activities such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries. “Snowfall in India is expected to decrease under 1.5° Celsius scenario by 13% when compared with the reference period’s snowfall levels. At 3°C of warming, the decrease is expected to be 2.4 times the 1.5°C scenario,” the report said.
The earth’s global surface temperaturehas increased by around 1.1°C compared with the average in 1850–1900. Suruchi Bhadwal, Director for Earth Science and Climate Change at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), said, “Extreme weather events in our regions have shown that the effects of climate change are increasing, and more and more people are being affected.”
