Nine Indian states are among 50 regions in the world that are at risk of damage “built environment” due to climate hazards, a report said. Built environment refers to aspects of surroundings that are built by humans to support their activities such as homes and workplaces.
According to the report published by Cross Dependency Initiative, a group that works on quantifying the costs of climate change, India has the highest number of states that are at risk of damage. These are Bihar (22nd spot), Uttar Pradesh (25), Assam (28), Rajasthan (32), Tamil Nadu (36), Maharashtra (38), Gujarat (48), Punjab (50) and Kerala (52), according to the report.
The maximum climate risk in the built environment is in Assam, the report said. The group calculated the physical climate risk in over 2,600 states and provinces around the world in 2050.
Eighty per cent of the 50 regions at the most risk are situated in China, the United States and India. Asia dominated the list of provinces at risk with 114 such regions in the top 200, as per the report.
Beijing, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Taiwan and Mumbai are among the top 100 cities that are at risk of damage. In China, at-risk regions are concentrated in the globally-connected eastern and southern parts of the country, media reported.
The Pakistani provinces of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are also among the top 100 regions at risk. Floods between June and August had devastated impact on the 30% of the country and damaged over 900,000 houses in Sindh alone.
Other countries with multiple regions in the top 50 include Brazil and Indonesia. From Europe, cities like London, Milan, Munich and Venice are at higher risk.