Climate Reckoning

India's climate crisis is no longer a distant threat; it's an urgent, daily reality.

The staggering statistics on extreme weather events in 2024 -- over 3,200 lives lost, millions of hectares of farmland ruined, and countless homes and livestock destroyed -- paint a grim picture of a nation bearing the brunt of climate change.

Extreme weather events were recorded on 255 of the first 274 days this year, underscoring a relentless increase that demands both immediate action and long-term strategic shifts.

The implications of these events go beyond the physical destruction they bring in their wake.

Every flood, heatwave, and storm disproportionately affects those least equipped to handle the aftermath.

Rural and low-income communities, often lacking resources for recovery, are left increasingly vulnerable.

When crops are destroyed or homes swept away, it's the poorest households that face hunger, homelessness, and a future defined by loss.

Climate change has ceased to be a concept debated in boardrooms; it's a lived experience for millions of Indians.