Jubilee Post
India is exceptionally vulnerable to the adverse consequences of climate change, given its diverse geo-climatic features and socioeconomic conditions. These adverse consequences are already affecting the country’s economy and livelihoods and could undermine progress made on development and poverty alleviation. Heat exposure in 2021 led to approximate losses of 167 billion potential labor hours in India, resulting in income loss of about USD 159 billion, or 5.4% of the country’s GDP (Climate Transparency Report 2022).
Estimates indicate that by 2040, India’s national poverty rate could increase by 3.5% due to declining agricultural productivity and rising cereal prices alone, pushing an additional 50 million people below the poverty line, as compared to a zero-warming scenario (Picciariello et al. 2021).