In 2024, India faced extreme weather events on 93 per cent of the days in the year’s first nine months — 255 out of 274 days — marked by heat and cold waves, cyclones, lightning, heavy rain, floods and landslides.
These events claimed 3,238 lives, affected 3.2 million hectare (mha) of crops, destroyed 235,862 houses and buildings, and killed approximately 9,457 livestock, said the report published every year by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Down To Earth, the fortnightly that CSE helps publish.
Compared to this, the first nine months of 2023 recorded extreme weather on 235 of 273 days, with 2,923 deaths, 1.84 mha of crops affected, 80,293 houses damaged, and 92,519 animal deaths.
The year 2024 also set several climate records. January was India’s ninth driest since 1901. In February, the country recorded its second-highest minimum temperature in 123 years. May saw the fourth-highest mean temperature on record, and July, August and September all registered their highest minimum temperatures since 1901.
In the Northwest, January was the second driest, and July recorded the region’s second-highest minimum temperature. The Southern Peninsula saw its hottest February ever, followed by exceptionally hot and dry March and April, but with a 36.5 percent surplus in July rainfall and the second-highest minimum temperature in August.
Speaking at the launch of the report, CSE director general and Down To Earth editor Sunita Narain said: “These record-breaking statistics reflect climate change’s impact, where events that used to occur once every century are now happening every five years or even less. This frequency is overwhelming the most vulnerable populations, who lack the resources to adapt to this relentless cycle of loss and damage.”
The report says that Andhra Pradesh had the most houses damaged (85,806), while Maharashtra, which saw extreme events on 142 days, accounted for over 60 per cent of the affected crop area nation-wide, followed by Madhya Pradesh (25,170 ha).
Richard Mahapatra, managing editor of Down To Earth, says: “This extreme weather report underscores the urgent need for systems that accurately capture losses, giving a human face to the impacts of climate change.”
CSE researchers point out that the report highlights a critical shift that is needed in our approach to extreme events — from disaster response to risk reduction and resilience-building. Flood management, for example, requires more than plans on paper; it calls for the strategic development of drainage and water recharge systems, along with expanded green spaces and forests to act as natural water reservoirs in preparation for future storms.
