Tragedy in Kashmir: Lives Lost to Climate Disasters
On the night of September 2, Shabir Ahmad watched his home in Sarh village, Indian-administered Kashmir, collapse into the river due to a landslide caused by heavy rains. “I built my house brick by brick since 2016. Now it’s all gone,” he said, reflecting on his loss.
Ahmad’s house was one of nearly 20 lost that night. Families watched helplessly as their homes, farms, and businesses vanished. “We don’t even have one inch of land left,” Ahmad said, now living in a government school with other villagers.
This disaster is part of a growing trend of climate-related events in India. According to a report from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), more than 32 million people have been displaced by climate disasters in India from 2015 to 2024. In 2024, there were 5.4 million displacements, the highest number recorded in over a decade.
In early 2025, extreme weather continued to wreak havoc, displacing 160,000 people across the country. Rains caused severe floods and landslides, submerging vast areas.
A Call for Action, Yet Inaction at Home
In response to these challenges, India launched the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) in 2015 to help communities manage climate risks. The fund was intended to finance projects addressing floods, droughts, and other climate-related issues.
However, there has been a startling decline in funding. From an average of $13.3 million annually in early years, the budget dropped to just $2.47 million in 2022-2023. Recently, no money has been allocated at all. This leaves many vital climate adaptation projects stalled.
At a recent climate conference, India’s Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav called for greater global focus on adaptation. He acknowledged the pressing need for funds but failed to mention that the NAFCC has received no new budget.
“This is misleading,” environmental activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat noted, criticizing the government’s hollow pledges amid declining support for adaptation.
The Reality of Displacement
In Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, Sunita Devi has faced repeated displacements due to floods. “We live in fear every monsoon,” she lamented, unable to send her children to school as they move from one temporary shelter to another.
Ramesh Behera, a fisherman from Odisha, lost his home to rising seas. “The sea took away my home,” he said, abandoning fishing to work as a manual laborer in Kashmir just to survive.
Throughout India, from the Sundarbans mangroves of West Bengal to the Himalayan region, families are losing their homes and livelihoods. As climate change accelerates, the pressure on these vulnerable communities only grows.
Experts predict that up to 45 million people in India could be forced to migrate by 2050 due to climate disruptions. “Migration is no longer a choice but a survival strategy,” Bhat warned, pointing out that poor land management and unchecked development worsen the impacts of natural disasters.
A Bleak Future
Back in Sarh village, Ahmad’s future remains uncertain. “If we cannot rebuild, we won’t just be homeless; we will be refugees in our own land,” he said, voicing the fear shared by many.
As climate crises continue to unfold, the government’s lack of support for adaptation efforts marks a glaring failure. “People are losing everything, and it seems nobody cares,” said Bhat.
The cycle of climate injustice appears unbroken, leaving communities like Ahmad’s to navigate an increasingly dire reality with little assistance and no clear path to recovery.
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