Extreme weather events claimed 4,064 lives across India from January to September 2025, with incidents occurring on 270 of 273 days, as detailed in the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report released on November 19. The assessment, drawing from India Meteorological Department (IMD) data and Union Home Ministry records, highlights floods and heavy rain as primary killers. All 36 states and union territories faced impacts, underscoring a nationwide crisis driven by climate anomalies.
This surge in CSE report 4064 extreme weather deaths India marks a 48% rise from 2,755 fatalities in 2022, amplifying vulnerabilities in South Asia’s most populous nation. The report reveals how erratic monsoons and heatwaves disrupt agriculture and livelihoods, threatening food security for over 1.4 billion people. In a region where South Asian countries share similar monsoon dependencies, India’s experience signals broader risks of cross-border migration and economic strain from intensified disasters.
Surge in Extreme Weather Frequency
India extreme weather 99% days CSE gripped the country relentlessly in 2025. The CSE analysis shows events on 270 days, up from 255 in 2024. This near-daily occurrence spans heatwaves, cold waves, lightning, storms, floods, landslides, cloudbursts, and snowfall.
IMD classifies these as rare anomalies, yet they dominated the calendar. Winter (January-February) saw 57 of 59 days affected, with 64 deaths. Pre-monsoon (March-May) recorded 91 of 92 days, claiming 993 lives. Monsoon (June-September) hit all 122 days, the fourth straight year of unbroken extremes.
Sunita Narain, CSE director general, stated during the report launch: “Given the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, the country no longer needs to count just the disasters. What we need to understand is the scale of mitigation that the whole world has to come together.” Her remarks, from the official CSE press release, emphasise the shift to global action.
Regional breakdowns reveal stark disparities. The northwest logged 257 event days and 1,342 deaths. East and northeast: 229 days, 878 deaths. Central: 200 days, 1,093 deaths. South peninsula: 205 days, 745 deaths. Himachal Pradesh topped states with 217 extreme days, nearly 80% of the period.
Deadliest Events and Human Toll
CSE report 4064 extreme weather deaths India breaks down by type. Heavy rain, floods, and landslides caused 2,440 fatalities, the highest. Lightning and storms followed with 1,456 deaths. Cloudbursts killed 135, heatwaves 21, and snowfall 12.
State data paints a grim picture. Madhya Pradesh led with 532 deaths. Andhra Pradesh followed at 484, Jharkhand at 478. Uttar Pradesh reported 321 deaths. Himachal Pradesh: 380. These figures, cross-verified with Union Home Ministry’s Disaster Management Division, likely underestimate totals due to seasonal reporting gaps.
Kiran Pandey, CSE programme director, noted in the report: “The rise in temperature during the monsoon is particularly concerning, as it disrupts the core dynamics of the monsoon system. This can trigger erratic and extreme weather events from floods to droughts while threatening agriculture, food security and public health.”
The IMD’s seasonal climate statements corroborate anomalies. January marked the fifth driest since 1901, with 71% rainfall deficit. February was the warmest in 124 years. March’s mean maximum temperature exceeded normal by 1.02°C. May saw 106% rainfall surplus. July and August brought excessive downpours, fuelling floods.
Crop Losses Extreme Weather India CSE Report Highlights Agricultural Devastation
Crop losses extreme weather India CSE report expose a fourfold surge since 2022. Total affected area: 9.47 million hectares, up from 1.84 million. Maharashtra bore the brunt at 8.4 million hectares. Punjab lost 262,831 hectares. Uttar Pradesh: 210,528 hectares. Himachal Pradesh: 167,000 hectares.
Monsoon amplified destruction, damaging 9.44 million hectares and causing 3,007 deaths, 74% of the total. Pre-monsoon heatwaves scorched fields in 19 states, including Himalayan areas like Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Winter crop losses were minimal at 0.02 million hectares, but localised floods hit early harvests.
The Union Ministry of Agriculture’s provisional data aligns, noting excess rain’s role in yield drops for rice and pulses. Gujarat reported 110 extreme days, though cropped area data remains unavailable. These losses threaten India’s grain basket, with Punjab and Haryana facing irrigation strains from erratic rains.
Housing and livestock suffered too. 99,533 houses damaged; 58,982 animals lost. Central India saw 8.42 million hectares of crop ruin alongside 1,093 human deaths, per CSE’s regional tally.
Monsoon Deaths India 2025 CSE: A Seasonal Catastrophe
Monsoon deaths India 2025 CSE dominated the toll, with extremes on every day from June to September. Of 4,064 total fatalities, 3,007 occurred then, driven by floods and landslides. The northwest, including Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, headlined devastating events like village-washing cloudbursts.
IMD alerts flagged orange and red warnings across 35 states. Kerala logged 147 extreme days, with 114 deaths and 5,352 houses damaged. Telangana averaged one event every five days, 51 total. Karnataka rose to 120 days from 96 in 2024.
Pandey added: “Twenty-seven states and Union Territories saw a rise in extreme weather days in 2025.” This persistence, against IMD’s record seventh-highest September mean temperature, signals disrupted monsoon dynamics.
Broader trends worry experts. Fatalities rose 48% since 2022; event days climbed from 241. The report urges daily loss tracking over seasonal tallies to capture full economic hits.
Background
CSE’s annual Climate India series, started in 2022, monitors extremes using IMD bulletins, Home Ministry reports, and media. The 2025 edition covers 1,500 days of data since inception, revealing a “new normal” in a warming world. Past years: 2024 had 3,238 deaths on 255 days; 2023: 2,923 on 235 days. Global CO2’s largest rise since 1957 fuels this, per IPCC alignments.
South Asia’s shared vulnerabilities amplify impacts. Pakistan’s 2025 monsoon killed hundreds, mirroring India’s floods and straining regional aid.
What’s Next
India must build resilient infrastructure and expand insurance, as CSE advocates. Enhanced IMD databases could track daily losses. Globally, COP30 in 2025 offers mitigation pledges. Without action, CSE warns, “the disasters of today will become the new normal of tomorrow.” Policymakers eye heat action plans for 19 affected states.
The CSE report 4064 extreme weather deaths India demands urgent scale-up in adaptation to safeguard South Asia’s future.
Published in SouthAsianDesk, November 21st, 2025
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