Lok Sabha Question No. 1553 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-09
Subject: Climate Disasters Ranking
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Dr. Raj Kumar Chabbewal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1553

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026

## Climate Disasters Ranking

## 1553. DR. RAJ KUMAR CHABBEWAL:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that as per a recent Climate Risk Index (CRI) report, India has been ranked 9th among the list of countries worst affected by climate-related disasters in the world;
- (b) if so, the details of the major climate-related disasters in the country, State/UT-wise along with the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the Government plans to take any concrete steps to mitigate the growing number of climate related disasters in the country; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) to (d)  Various parts of the country have experienced extreme events, including cyclonic storms, droughts, floods, heat waves, landslides and glacial lake outburst floods. India's east and west coasts are prone to tropical cyclone activity, the Indian Himalayan Region lying in seismic zones IV and V, is highly vulnerable to landslides, floods and glacial lake outburst floods. Heatwaves are  occurring  more  frequently  over  the  Indo-Gangetic  plains,  central  and  north-western  India, while extreme precipitation and flooding have affected several parts of the country, particularly the Indo-Gangetic plains, peninsular, eastern and north-eastern regions.

The Government has taken concrete and targeted steps to mitigate the growing risks from climaterelated disasters through hazard-specific mitigation and resilience-building programmes implemented across vulnerable States and regions, such as:

- i. For drought mitigation, focused interventions have been supported in drought-prone States including  Andhra  Pradesh,  Bihar,  Gujarat,  Jharkhand,  Karnataka,  Madhya  Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, with emphasis on area-specific farming systems, surface and groundwater management and agro-forestry, aimed at enhancing long-term drought resilience.
- ii. To address forest fires, the Government of India has approved the  Mitigation Scheme for Forest Fire Risk Management for implementation in 144 high-priority districts across 19 States,  namely  Andhra  Pradesh,  Arunachal  Pradesh,  Assam,  Chhattisgarh,  Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya  Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya,  Mizoram,  Nagaland,  Odisha,  Tamil  Nadu,  Telangana  and  Uttarakhand, focusing on prevention, preparedness, response and post-fire recovery.
- iii. For urban flooding, integrated structural and non-structural flood management measures are  being  implemented  in  major  cities  including  Mumbai,  Pune,  Hyderabad,  Kolkata, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Chennai, as well as Tier-II cities such as Guwahati, Patna, Kanpur,  Thiruvananthapuram,  Visakhapatnam,  Bhubaneswar,  Bhopal,  Jaipur,  Indore, Lucknow and Raipur.
- iv. The National GLOF Risk Mitigation Programme (NGRMP) has been approved for glacial lake  outburst  flood  (GLOF)  risk  mitigation  in  Himalayan  States  including  Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, covering hazard and risk assessment, monitoring and early warning systems, mitigation measures and community awareness.
- v. For landslide risk mitigation, targeted interventions have  been undertaken in landslideprone  States  including  Uttarakhand,  Himachal  Pradesh,  Sikkim,  Arunachal  Pradesh, Assam,  Meghalaya,  Mizoram,  Nagaland,  Manipur,  Tripura,  Maharashtra,  Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, with special focus on Himalayan and North-Eastern regions,  through  a  comprehensive  programme,  namely  the  National  Landslide  Risk Mitigation Programme (NLRMP).
- vi. In  addition,  flood  mitigation  through  wetland  has  been  supported  in  Assam,  covering multiple districts, to enhance natural storage capacity and reduce flood impacts. Coastal risk mitigation and resilience measures have also been implemented in coastal States and Union Territories to address risks from erosion, flooding and storm surges through the Integrated Coastal Risk Mitigation and Resilience Programme.

These measures reflect the Government's continued focus on preventive mitigation, risk-informed planning and resilience-oriented development to reduce the impacts of climate-related disasters. *****