Description

Disclaimer: Copyright infringement not intended

Context :

Recently, Germanwatch Published Climate Risk Index 2025. And India is ranked 49th based on data from 1993-2022.
The CRI shows the impact of such events for the past 2 years before the index’s publication & data from the preceding 30 years is used.

The Climate Risk Index (CRI) is an index which ranks countries based on how much they are affected by extreme weather events.

These extreme weather events are heatwaves, storms, floods, & droughts..etc.

This index also tells how many people & the economy get affected by these extreme weather events.

This index was 1st Started in 2006 by Germanwatch.

Germanwatch is an independent development, environmental, & human rights organisation

The CRI divides extreme weather events into 3 groups:

Global Impact:

Around 765,000 deaths happened because of extreme weather events.
More than 9,400 extreme weather events happened worldwide.
Total economic losses were around USD 4.2 trillion (adjusted for inflation).

Impact Drivers:

Storms
- It Caused 35% of deaths.
- 56% of total economic losses (USD 2.33 trillion).
Heatwaves
- It Caused 30% of Global deaths.
- Had serious impacts on nature & farming.
Floods
- It Caused 27% of deaths.
- Affected around 50% of people hit by extreme weather.
- 32% of economic losses (USD 1.33 trillion).

Dominica: Most affected by rare but bad events.
China: Frequent extreme weather events, mostly floods &
Honduras: Badly hit by storms & flooding.
Myanmar, Vanuatu: Hit by rare extreme events, for example : cyclones & flooding.
Philippines, India: majorly hit by tropical storms, heatwaves, & floods.

7 of the top 10 most affected countries in 2022 were rich countries.
It shows that even wealthy nations are at risk.
Poor countries like small island nations face more and deal with fewer resources

COP29 Outcomes:

It set a goal of USD 300 billion per year by 2035 for climate finance to help developing countries.
Experts say that this amount is too small & issues of loss & damage were not properly addressed.
There is a need for much more financial support for dealing with climate change & its damages.
Poor nations mostly in the Global South, need more money to manage these climate risks.

Source: Germanwatch

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2025?

The CRI ranks countries based on the impact of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, storms, floods, and droughts.
The CRI evaluates the impact over a 5-year period and is based on data from 1995-2022.
The index was first started by the World Bank in 2006.
Storms accounted for 56% of the total economic losses due to extreme weather events globally.

Select the correct answer:

A) 1 and 4 only
B) 1, 2, and 4 only
C) 1, 3, and 4 only
D) 1 and 3 only

Answer : A) 1 and 4 only.

Explanation :

Statement 1 is Correct: Climate Risk Index (CRI) ranks countries based on their exposure to and the impact of extreme weather events like heatwaves, storms, floods, & droughts. The CRI also helps to understand the vulnerability of countries to such events, including how they affect the population and the economy.
Statement 2 is Incorrect: The CRI evaluates impacts a 2-year period before publication, and data from the preceding 30 years is used. The evaluation does not occur in a 5-year period as mentioned in the statement.
Statement 3 is Incorrect: The Climate Risk Index was started by Germanwatch, an independent environmental organization, not the World Bank. Germanwatch has been publishing the CRI since 2006.
Statement 4 is Correct: Storms are responsible for 56% of the total economic losses globally due to extreme weather events. These storms caused significant damage, amounting to USD 2.33 trillion in losses, according to the CRI data.