Floods? Let’s wait until the next one. Hill towns disappear? Never mind, let the construction continue. Drought? What are water tankers for? In the face of such indifference to death and disaster, experts now warn that India’s climate threats are expanding into previously overlooked low coastal flats, fragile deltas, seismic valleys, Himalayan pilgrimage towns, and fresh landslide corridors across the Northeast. Climate disasters have shifted from isolated shocks to overlapping transformations that are sneakily redrawing the country’s physical map. Coastal regions just metres above sea level face tides pressing inland through drains and rivers; deltas risk being redrawn and mountain settlements built on overstrained slopes are collapsing under cloudbursts and seismic tensions. Forest belts that once cooled the land are hotter while cities sit at the intersection of extreme heat and collapsing drainage. With more than 80 per cent of the population exposed to hydrometeorological extremes and nine states ranked among the world’s most at-risk regions, eco-vulnerability now cuts across coastlines, mountains, deltas, forests, and megacities alike.
Seismic Shock
While on paper these cities are stable, people have forgotten that violent earthquakes can strike suddenly and hit harder than expected.
Rajkot, Gujarat
The ground is a problem since the region’s cracked geology can make earthquake shaking even worse (like how jello shakes more than solid ground). It’s influenced by the nearby Kutch fault system where the devastating Bhuj earthquake happened in 2001. Scientists predict shaking could be moderate to severe (0.19g to 0.39g). As one contractor explains: “Buildings go up fast, but few follow seismic norms”—meaning construction is booming but builders aren’t following earthquake safety rules. Engineer Satyaprakash Mishra says the city needs detailed soil studies for each area, city-level earthquake design teams, proper training for builders and engineers, fixing old unsafe buildings and better coordination between authorities. Without urgent action, it could face a disaster like the 2001 Bhuj earthquake that killed thousands.
Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
The marble city sits on a dangerous crack in the Earth’s crust (the Narmada-Son-Tapti fault line). Think of it like a city sitting on a cracked foundation of one of the most earthquake-prone cities in central India. Most neighbourhoods haven’t checked if their buildings are earthquake-safe. People have forgotten about the big earthquake that hit in 1997. As one resident says: “No one thinks it can happen again”—but it definitely could. The city needs detailed, neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood earthquake safety rules (called microzonation), updated local building codes that work with India’s national and state disaster management authorities (NDMA and SDMA). Jabalpur is in a dangerous spot for earthquakes, and urgently needs better safety rules enforcement.
Burning Red
Longer dry spells, rising heat, and fragmented forests are making India’s woodlands more fire-prone.
Nilambur, Kerala
Nilambur’s forests and plantations are increasing wildfire risk. “This fragmentation alters fuel continuity and dryness, increasing ignition potential,” says Yara Sultan of the Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr Sagunthala R&D Institute, noting that extended spells and human ignition—over 90 per cent of forest fires—drive the trend. “Delayed detection allows small fires to escalate rapidly,” she adds, amid weak funding, data integration and inter-agency coordination.
The solution could be to set up community-based fire management committees, real-time integration of satellite fire data, and better fuel management. Long-term resilience, Sultan says, depends on “stable budgets for fire management and cooperation between ministries.”
The Heat is On
Irresponsible urbanisation, concrete paving and shrinking green cover are intensifying extreme heat events.
Lahaul & Spiti, Himachal Pradesh
About 57 per cent of Indian districts are at high to very high risk to extreme heat, with 76 per cent of the population at risk. Lahaul & Spiti lead the heatwave intensity index across India. “Their intensity of heatwaves is increasing overall in India,” says Kashif Imdad, geology professor and UPSDMA member, adding that reduced moisture in the soil is responsible for growing heat even in cold desert zones. Warmer temperatures and shifting precipitation are reducing snow cover and straining water resources. State and national disaster institutions must strengthen heat and climate-adaptation planning, by especially paying attention to high-altitude zones. Better monitoring of temperature and precipitation trends will help people in the region to survive heat better.
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
UP’s capital faces serious climate danger. Unbridled construction on farm land, vegetation, and water bodies is driving hotter surface temperatures and a stronger heat-island effect—when a city is turned into a heat trap by asphalt, concrete, and dark roofs that absorb solar radiation storing heat and releasing it slowly, reduced vegetation, tall buildings that trap heat and block cooling winds, creating “urban canyons”, waste heat from air conditioners, vehicles, and industrial processes, air pollution that trap heat, contributing to higher temperatures. “The number of heatwave days has significantly increased,” says Imdad. Experts feel cooling centres—air-conditioned public spaces set up during extreme heat as part of a city’s heatwave response system are a must. Accessible drinking water is essential, alongside a better warnings system.
Agra, Uttar Pradesh
The immortal Taj Mahal is feeling the heat, causing structural strain from intense heat radiation from red sandstone and burning dust from the dry Yamuna river bed. Dense concrete paved zones, the usual Indian urban features are heat culprits which trap humidity. Congested neighbourhoods, limited shade, and water stress pose serious risks to vendors, guides and transport workers. “By noon the heat from the stones and the road feels like it’s coming from below your feet,” says Rafiq, a rickshaw driver working near the Taj Mahal complex. Absolutely essential are drinking water stations in high-footfall tourist areas, shaded pathways, cooling shelters, regulated work-rest cycles for outdoor workers, and embedding heat-resilient design standards into all future development plans to ease the stress.
Fatal Slope
Steep, fragile Western Ghats and Himalayan slopes are becoming saturated during heavy monsoons, triggering landslides worsened by rampant construction and land-use change.
Idukki, Kerala
Heavy rains trigger deadly landslides in Idukki with growing frequency. The causes span decades: resettlement of families on unstable slopes in the 1950s, dam construction that submerged forests in the 1970s, dense tourism, deforestation, monoculture farming, quarrying, and climate change intensifying monsoon patterns. Idukki ranks as India’s 18th most landslide-prone district. “Human activities increase the impact by making the land more prone to erosion along the run-out path,” says Minu Treesa Abraham of the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. She argues that reducing risk requires empowering local authorities to enforce landslide-safe building codes, as well as regulating earthworks, tightening zoning, improving early warning systems, and planning shelters as extreme rainfall intensifies.
Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand
Rudraprayag ranks first in India for landslide exposure, sitting in a highly susceptible Himalayan zone where road cutting, deforestation, and monsoon saturation heighten risk. “We have lived here for generations, but now every heavy shower makes us anxious,” says resident Ashish T. Experts urge identification and protection of high-risk zones through stricter land-use rules, safer road construction, slope stabilisation, improved rainfall monitoring, early-warning systems, and community preparedness to reduce disaster losses and monsoon slope saturation heighten risk.
Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra
Mahabaleshwar’s construction boom and deforestation are reducing slope resilience to heavy rain and landslides. “Construction combined with loss of trees and uneven slopes has made it less resilient to intense rainfall,” says Pratiksha Chalke, RS-GIS Specialist at MIT-WPU Pune, noting that monitoring and regulation of tree and hill cutting remain weak. Maharashtra’s Majhi Vasundhara mission aims to restore sustainability through green infrastructure and better land management. Chalke says tracking landslides and soil moisture, regulating hill construction, and protecting vegetation will be key to reducing disaster risk.
Stormy Seas
Warming Indian Ocean waters are driving more intense tropical cyclones, especially in the Bay of Bengal.
Cuttack, Odisha
A 2024 assessment places central Odisha, including Cuttack, in a high-impact cyclone zone. “Extreme changes in climate have made it susceptible to frequent cyclones and flooding,” says Pankaj Koparde, assistant professor, Department of Environmental Studies, MIT-WPU Pune, adding that rapid urbanisation and poor drainage worsen impacts. “In our area, moderate cyclones or even heavy rain quickly waterlog the lanes,” says resident Sabitri Das.
Upgrading drainage, strengthening green-blue infrastructure, and enforcing floodplain rules could help Cuttack cope. Koparde says tracking river discharge, encroachment, and drainage efficiency can improve flood forecasting, while new district risk maps can guide mitigation.
Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu
Cuddalore’s low-lying coast lies in one of Tamil Nadu’s most cyclone-prone zones. “Cuddalore’s coastal belt is naturally exposed to cyclones, but local conditions have amplified that risk,” says Aditya Verghese, head, Centre of Excellence, Public Finance, SEEDS. Mangrove loss, floodplain construction, and weak drainage now heighten inundation even during moderate storms.
Restoring mangroves, improving drainage, and enforcing buffer zones could curb flooding, while community planning and risk maps aid recovery. Varghese says SEEDS is also testing parametric insurance for faster cyclone relief.
That Sinking Feeling
Rising seas, stronger surges of tides and fast-retreating shores are almost drowning India’s coastal towns and villages.
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Visakhapatnam’s shoreline expansion and reclamation have removed natural buffers, heightening flood and surge exposure. “The combination of shoreline modification, rapid port development, coastal erosion, and localised land subsidence… heightens its vulnerability,” say Tarig Ali, Serter Atabay, Paramita Roy, and Chaitanya Baliram Pande, whose 2025 study finds moderate to high flood risk by 2100. Inconsistent CRZ enforcement and weak coordination are worsening impacts.
The researchers call for slope stabilisation, dune and vegetation restoration, tighter reclamation controls, and drainage upgrades. They say real-time flood monitoring and warnings could cut future exposure.
Karwar, Karnataka
Karwar’s shoreline is shifting, with beaches moving from accretion to erosion and low-lying estuary areas facing more flooding. Disrupted sediment supply, lost natural buffers, and coastal construction are worsening the trend. “Construction and drainage bottlenecks aggravate waterlogging,” says Mohan Kamath, a local resident.
Priority actions include restoring and reinforcing natural buffers, upgrading drainage in flood-prone pockets, and updating hazard assessments. A more integrated modelling approach that brings together estuarine dynamics, extreme rainfall, and future sea-level rise is needed to sharpen future risk assessment.
Mousuni Island, West Bengal
The island’s underground water is turning salty because people are pumping out too much, protective walls are breaking down, and storm floods keep pushing seawater inland, and as resident Pradip Das puts it, “Earlier our wells had potable water, but now even the hand pumps taste salty.” Yet many wells haven’t even been tested to see how contaminated they are.
The island needs stronger walls to keep seawater out, regular water testing, a system to let rainwater naturally refill underground water instead of just constantly pumping it out, as well as limits on how much water people can extract, coastal vegetation as natural barriers, better government management, and local rainwater collection and storage.
Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh
Rapid urban growth is pulling seawater inland. Shifting river channels and excessive groundwater pumping are lowering water tables and increasing salinity. A 2025 study identifies multiple threats—erosion, cyclones, sea-level rise, and industrial pressure. As farmer S Satyanarayana notes: “The water is turning brackish… you only notice when it starts tasting different.”
Kakinada must strengthen infrastructure, implement smarter land-use planning, and limit groundwater extraction. The study recommends more cyclone shelters in vulnerable areas and coastal protection through beach restoration and mangrove planting. Unchecked growth is contaminating Kakinada’s water and exposing it to climate risks.
Breaking the Ice
Rapid Himalayan glacier melt is enlarging unstable moraine lakes that could burst during extreme rain or earthquakes.
Toong Naga, Sikkim
Faster glacier retreat is enlarging unstable lakes like South Lhonak, raising GLOF risk in the Teesta valley. Dense hydropower, road, and riverside development amplify exposure. “Now, when the rain turns heavy, we don’t sleep. Since the 2023 incident, that fear hasn’t gone away,” says Norbu Lepcha of Toong Naga. A local official notes that planning norms seldom include detailed GLOF-risk modelling.
Continuous satellite monitoring of priority lakes, more robust and weather-resilient warning systems, and targeted mitigation options for rapidly expanding lakes like South Lhonak are needed. Strict land-use zoning, cloudburst detection and GLOF-inclusive planning for hydropower and settlement growth are essential.