
This past month, amidst relentlessly high temperatures, electricity demand in Delhi repeatedly broke records. The unusually high demand also led to frequent power cuts in Delhi and neighbouring areas. Several places in central and eastern India faced similar or worse situations. The lack of electricity, combined with abnormally high night temperatures, made lives miserable and have even contributed to several heat-related deaths.
The unprecedented surge in electricity demand is just a glimpse of the kind of stress that critical infrastructure faces from extreme weather events and resultant disasters. Power systems are not the only ones that are vulnerable.
Telecommunications, transportation, health services, and even cyber systems face disruptions due to disasters, complicating an already difficult crisis situation. The breakdown of essential and emergency services not only hampers relief, rescue, and recovery, but also amplifies the risks and sometimes adds to the devastation.
Making critical infrastructure resilient to extreme events and disasters is a crucial component of climate change adaptation. As the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events increase due to climate change, it becomes imperative to ensure that critical infrastructure systems can withstand and quickly recover from these disruptions.
While early warnings and quick responses have significantly reduced human casualties in disasters, economic and other losses from extreme weather events and disasters have been rising. This is mainly due to the increase in frequency and intensity of such events. Government data shows that in the five years between 2018 and 2023, States collectively spent more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore on dealing with the aftermath of disasters and natural calamities. This figure represents only the immediate expenditure. Long-term costs, such as livelihood losses and reduced agricultural productivity, are much greater and projected to worsen over time.
To mitigate these impacts, it is crucial to adopt comprehensive damage assessment practices, enhance resilience planning for private infrastructure, and foster public-private partnerships. By investing in infrastructure modernization, improving coordination and communication, and engaging communities and stakeholders, more resilient critical infrastructure systems can be built that can better withstand and recover from the challenges posed by climate change and extreme weather events.
See What’s Next in Tech With the Fast Forward Newsletter
Tweets From @varindiamag
Nothing to see here - yet
When they Tweet, their Tweets will show up here.