India ranks among the top ten countries globally most affected by climate change, Germanwatch detailed in a report released in Belem at COP30. It highlights the toll that extreme weather events—such as heat waves, storms, and floods—have taken on vulnerable nations, including India. 

According to the 2026 Climate Risk Index, Dominica, Myanmar, and Honduras are listed as the three countries most impacted by extreme weather over the last three decades.

While the majority of countries in the top rankings are in the Global South, several European nations and the United States are also included in the top 30, showcasing the widespread effects of climate change. The report indicates that about 40 percent of the world's population—over three billion people—resides in the eleven countries most severely affected by climate-related extreme weather in the past 30 years.

India, ranked 9th overall, has a significant population of approximately 1.4 billion affected individuals, while China, which holds 11th position, contributes notably as well. Libya and Haiti follow next, with the Philippines, recently impacted by severe typhoons Kalmaegi and Fung-wong, in 7th place.

Developed nations are not exempt from these challenges - France ranks 12th, the highest among industrialized countries, with Italy at 16th and United States, under the leadership of Donald Trump and currently in a state of climate denial, at 18th.

The index records over 9,700 extreme weather events occurring between 1995 and 2024, resulting in more than 830,000 fatalities and over USD 4.5 trillion in direct damages, adjusted for inflation. According to report, heat waves and storms are the most significant threats to human life posed by these events and caused the highest monetary damages, while floods have affected the most people.

Experts point out that India has been consistently within the top ladder of climatic impacts as the earlier index of German watch, released in 2020, showed India suffered the maximum number of deaths — 2,081 — from climate-triggered extreme weather events in 2018. India was also second in terms of economic losses in 2018.

“The latest report underlined the huge impact on India in terms of climate impacts and calls for policy changes not only at global level but also at national level to ensure that the vulnerable population can counter such impacts more strongly in future” observed an Indian expert at Belem.

The report shows that around 40 per cent of all people worldwide, over three billion, currently live in the eleven countries that have been most severely affected by climate change catered extreme weather events over the past 30 years. India, with the overall ninth global most impacted country tag, contributes nearly 1.4 billion within the population under scanner.

 Countries like India do not find recovery time

 “Countries like India, Haiti, Philippines face tremendous challenges as they are hit by floods, heat waves, or storms so regularly that entire regions can hardly recover from the impacts until the next event hits,” points out Vera Künzel, co-author of the index. The expert pointed out that the result underlines the importance of more funding to address loss and damage catered by climatic challenges.

Incidentally on the first day of global climate summit in Belem, calls rolled out for applying for 'loss and damage UN fund'; a first of its kind and hailed as 'historical' by many though activists frowned on the paltry 250 million USD being in kitty of the fund as announced.