Tuesday, 09 Jun, 2026
By: Yash Gupte
Over the past century, the highest total number of humans affected by drought were in Asia. Image source: IANS
129 countries will experience an increase in drought exposure forcing more than 216 million people to migrate by 2050
The report, Drought in Numbers, 2022 released by the global body has found out that drought frequency and duration has already increased by 29 percent since 2000. Droughts were also the deadliest natural disaster on a global scale (though they only represent 15 percent of natural disasters) killing 650,000 people between 1970 and 2019. The global economy lost around $124 billion in two decades due to drought.
The report also noted that Africa is the most affected continent by severe droughts, with more than 300 events recorded in the past century, accounting to 44 percent of the global total. A whopping 134 events were recorded only in the past two decades. Europe has seen 45 droughts in the last 100 years resulting in more than USD 27.8 billion in economic losses. Over the past century, the highest total number of humans affected by drought were in Asia.
Source: UNCCD
The report also posts a worrying picture for India. According to UN estimates, severe droughts have been estimated to have reduced India’s GDP by 2 to 5%. It also observed that India’s vulnerability is higher compared to most parts of the world with parts of South India and the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region being the most vulnerable compared to the rest of the country.
According to various reports, frequent and increasingly severe heat waves, irregular rainfall and reckless use of water resources are the main factor the country is staring at a major draught scare. Last year, in a report prepared by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), some 97.85 million hectares (mha) of India’s total geographical area (TGA) of 328.72 mha underwent land degradation during 2018-19. This means, close to 30 percent of country’s land during the period became degraded. Besides this, 83.69 mha underwent desertification in 2018-19.
The increase in desertification comes with severe implications not just for the environment, but also the health and livelihood of the people. Just this year, we experienced a severe heatwave across the country. With global actions mostly stuck on the negotiating table, people are bearing a brunt of it.
