Nepal’s Climate Risk Index Ranking Highlights Urgent Need for Action
Nepal ranks 68th in the Climate Risk Index 2025 due to climate change-induced extreme weather. Annually, about 250 lives are lost, and economic losses reach USD 221.3 million, highlighting the urgent need for action. The report underscores worldwide trends of rising climate-related disasters, showing a clear link to human-induced climate change.
Nepal has been ranked 68th in the Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2025, reported by Germanwatch, which assesses the impact of climate-induced extreme weather events from 1993 to 2022. The ranking is based on factors such as heatwaves, heavy rainfall, wildfires, floods, and storms affecting various countries due to climate change.
The CRI highlights that, on average, 249.7 people lose their lives annually in Nepal from climate-related disasters, yielding a mortality rate of 0.189 per 100,000 individuals. Additionally, approximately 75,840 people are directly impacted every year due to these events.
Nepal incurs an estimated annual economic loss of USD 221.3 million from climate-induced disasters, accounting for 0.258% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This economic downturn has significant implications for the country’s resilience and recovery efforts.
Globally, the report reveals that from 1993 to 2022, over 765,000 lives were lost, with direct economic losses nearing USD 4.2 trillion due to more than 9,400 extreme weather incidents. This situation highlights the increasing frequency and seriousness of climate-related disasters and the urgent requirement for climate action.
The report details that Pakistan, Belize, and Italy were the most affected nations in 2022 due to various climate events, while Dominica led the list of the ten countries most vulnerable to climate-induced disasters, followed by China, Honduras, and Myanmar.
Pakistan faced catastrophic flooding during an intense monsoon, affecting over 33 million people, resulting in over 1,700 fatalities, and incurring nearly USD 15 billion in damages due to storms and landslides. Highlighting the impact of heatwaves, a surge in temperatures led to more than 90 deaths in Pakistan between June and September 2022.
The report emphasizes that human-induced climate change has exacerbated the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, necessitating urgent global responses. The scientific consensus supports that climate change significantly contributes to severe weather occurrences alongside global warming impacts.
Critically, COP29 did not establish an ambitious New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for Climate Finance to adequately address the urgent climate challenges for developing countries. The report stresses that an annual funding target of USD 300 billion by 2035 is merely a minimum requirement in tackling the escalating climate crisis.
Additionally, the NCQG fell short in addressing loss and damage from climate impacts, necessitating immediate rectification. Increased financial support from high-emission nations is essential to help vulnerable countries combat severe climate effects and ensure successful adaptation efforts.
Nepal’s ranking of 68th in the Climate Risk Index 2025 underscores the significant challenges it faces due to extreme weather attributed to climate change. With substantial annual mortality and economic losses due to climate events, the need for invigorated climate finance and action is evident. The global rising trend of extreme weather events necessitates immediate responses, especially for vulnerable nations.
Original Source: risingnepaldaily.com
