Cancun: Climate change to affect India the most

CANCUN: Nearly five million people may die due to climate change in the next 10 years if nations fail to put up an effective response to the problem says a study by the Climate Vulnerable Forum.

About a million fresh deaths will occur every year starting from 2030 if the problem is not addressed.

The report estimates that already 3,50,000 people are dying every year across the world due to climate change related issues.

The report titled ‘Climate Vulnerability Monitor’ has been backed by leading international authorities on climate change including Michael Zammit Cutajar, former executive secretary of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Climate Vulnerable Forum was founded by Mohammed Nasheed, president of Maldives.

The report assesses each country according to estimated effects of climate change on the areas of health, weather, disasters and human habitat loss in the country. The report acknowledges India as a country acutely impacted by the problem of climate change on an overall basis.

According to the study, while India’s economic resilience remains poised, it faces severe vulnerability on health related aspects of climate change and high vulnerability on loss of habitat to climate change. The report estimates both these issues — health and habitat loss, would become an acute problem by the end of next 10 years.

“In absolute terms India will face the highest number of excessive deaths due to health impacts of climate change. India alone will carry more than a third of total global health burden,” notes the report.

On the economic front, the vulnerability monitor estimates that presently, a total loss of $150 billions occurs worldwide due to climate change. Surprisingly, more than half of those losses are taking place in industrialised nations. China and India are also the countries projected to face largest absolute economic losses due to sea level rise.