Calamity watch: We must not let natural disasters blindside us

As we are still some weeks away from the monsoon’s retreat, we cannot rule out the possibility of further scares of this nature. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), North India has recorded its wettest monsoon since 2013, a year remembered for the Kedarnath flash flood. In the first 25 days of this month, the North had 21 events of extremely heavy rain, the highest since the IMD began collating this data in 2021 and 50% more than in the same month last year, which was the region’s wettest August in 28 years. 

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No doubt, climate change has much to do with the rising frequency of extreme weather events—not only in India, but also globally. Recall July’s flash floods in Texas, US, that took at least 135 lives. According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction,  climate-related disasters almost doubled from 1980-1999 to 2000-2019. 

In the words of UN Secretary General António Guterres, “Climate change is the defining issue of our time… every day we fail to act is a day that we step a little closer to a fate that none of us wants—a fate  that will resonate through generations in the damage done to humankind and life on earth." 

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Sadly, the US withdrawal this January from the Paris pact of 2015 has squashed all hope of global cooperation on this front. Today, it is each country for itself. This means we must redouble our efforts to mitigate the effects of global warming through better monitoring of atmospheric conditions and greater preparedness for inclement weather that may leave a trail of devastation. 

What worsens matters is that we largely have only ourselves to blame. It is well-known that the Himalayas are sensitive to rising heat levels that lead glaciers to retreat and make cloud bursts likelier, leaving hilly terrain increasingly prone to landslides and water barrages. 

Unchecked construction, often in violation of the law, hydropower and road projects in fragile zones and relentless tourist pressure have all aggravated the problem. According to a statistics ministry report, EnviStats 2025, India recorded 3,080 human deaths due to extreme natural events in 2024-25, the highest in a decade and a 17% rise from 2,616 in 2023-24. 

The absence of an extensive network of automatic weather stations and weak real-time tracking of risks results in late responses and an inability to alert or evacuate people in advance. 

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However, lives could be saved with better early warning and disaster response systems. Our National Disaster Management Authority, set up after the 2004 Asian Tsunami, has been upgraded and its focus expanded. Also, Isro’s NISAR satellite project with Nasa is expected to monitor climate change in ways that could help map risks and forecast disasters. 

But we also need longer-term plans for the restoration of fragile ecological zones and creation of natural buffers around all development projects. In all, we need speedier relief and rescue efforts to minimize the loss of lives.