India's climate challenge

The Hindu

2 days ago

As this year opened, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday clock at 89 seconds to midnight. This is the closest ever to human extinction. This year's report cited climate change as one of the defining reasons for the clock ticking fast towards the end of our time as we know it. The 2025 clock time signals that the world is on a course of unprecedented risk, and that continuing on the current path is a form of madness.
Indian view
Currently, India stands at the precipice of a climatic crisis, and its response — or the lack thereof — will shape the nation's future in more ways than we can yet imagine. India's history is replete with climate-related upheavals that have tested its resilience — socially, economically, and ecologically. As per a report by the UN office for Disaster Risk Reduction, India suffered an economic loss of a whopping $79.5 billion due to climate-related disasters in the past 20 years from 1998 to 2017. As per scientists, the Indian monsoon, once predictable, has been destabilised by global warming. Increasing temperature causes increased evaporation, which results in heavier and more erratic rainfall.
The shifting monsoon trough has become a scourge especially for the northeastern states of Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh, where, in recent weeks, more than 46 people died and almost half a million were affected. These climate disasters should not be seen as seasonal misfortunes, but as climate warnings. With no cohesive policy in place and minimal integration of climate considerations into its national security strategy, India is underprepared for a crisis that affects its economy, its people, and its very future.
The threat ahead
India's coastline, stretching over 7,500 km, is a hub of economic activity, cultural vibrancy and biodiversity. Yet, this vast peninsular stretch and its inhabitants now face a severe threat: rising sea levels, driven by climate change. Compounding the long-term threat of sea level rise are short-term climate phenomena such as El Nino and La Nina, which have a significant impact on weather patterns across South Asia. El Nino reduced monsoon rainfall, leading to droughts, while paradoxically, La Nina events may increase rainfall and the frequency of extreme weather events such as cyclones and floods, many of which wreak havoc along India's coastal belt. Together, these factors create a dangerous cocktail of rising seas and erratic climatic behaviour, threatening livelihoods, infrastructure, and long-term sustainability in the region.
According to a report by the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), a Bengaluru-based think tank, there are multiple Indian States at the threat of getting submerged. Those such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala are already prone to flooding, have an uncertain future lying ahead. The study further highlights that more than 10% of the land in Mumbai, Yanam, and Thoothukudi; 5%-10% in Panaji and Chennai; and 1%-5% in Kochi, Mangaluru, Visakhapatnam, Haldia, Udupi, Paradip, and Puri would be submerged due to rise in sea levels by 2040.
Damage to livelihood
The impact of severe weather goes beyond the metropolitan infrastructure and has a devastating impact on the rural and coastal communities. In a country where 47% of the population is dependent on agriculture, it poses a severe threat. Soil salinisation, caused by seawater intrusion, renders once-fertile land unfit for cultivation. This decline in agricultural output can fuel price inflation and deepen reliance on non-local food sources, thereby undermining national food security.
The Indian coastal ecosystems are equally vulnerable — the mangrove forests, coral reefs, estuaries and wetlands which serve both as rich habitats for marine biodiversity and as natural buffers against cyclones and tidal surges. A survey warns that the Sunderbans, the world's largest contiguous mangrove forest could lose up to 80% of its area by 2100. The destruction of these habitats by warming waters and rising sea level could trigger species extinction and disrupt food chains, with consequences that ripple far beyond borders.
National security concern
With a ranking of sixth on the Climate Risk Index, India must acknowledge the danger of surging seas. Experts warn that India is most vulnerable to compounding impacts of sea level rise. The Indian Ocean is the fastest-warming ocean in terms of surface temperature, and cyclones are intensifying due to excess heat and moisture. Therefore, it is imperative that the government begin to treat environmental degradation concerns as an issue of national security, because nature itself can just be as dangerous, if not worse, than any armed adversary.
Across the world, climate change is already being framed as a security threat. In the U.S., the Pentagon labels it a 'threat multiplier' — one that exacerbates tensions and compromises national defence readiness. The U.K., too, has integrated climate resilience into its foreign policy. While the Indian government has taken commendable steps — participating in the Paris Agreement and committing to a net-zero emissions target by 2070 — its internal budgeting tells a different story. As per the Union Budget 2025-26, the Ministry of Defence was allocated ₹6,81,210 crore, or 13.45% of the total Union Budget, highest among all the Ministries. While the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change received just ₹3,412.82 crore, a meagre 0.067%.
It is high time India stopped operating as if in a cowboy economy, a reckless, fossil-fuel-hungry model that assumes infinite resources and minimal consequences. Incidents suh as the northeastern floods, the Wayanad landslides, and the slow but steady sea level rise are all climate alarms. They call for a shift towards the values of ecologism, sustainability, and resilience. As the World Economic Forum notes, ignorance in the face of environmental collapse is now a threat to over one billion people worldwide.
In this era of de-territorialisation, no nation can insulate itself from the effects of climate related catastrophe. The environment has become the archetypal example of a global issue, affecting all nations alike. Therefore, the key takeaway from the incident climatic crisis is simple yet urgent: we must treat environmental risk as central to national and human security, and adhere to sustainable development.
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