Disaster Management

Cold snaps may delight climate-change deniers, but they don’t come cheap. From billion-dollar winter storms to a $20 trillion global cleanup bill, extreme weather—hot or cold—is draining economies fast. Snowballs may melt away but the costs remain.

In a world saturated with dramatic disaster news, social media gets suffused with earnest messages of concern. Yet, they’re often misplaced, misdirected at those who aren’t in any danger, or worse, a distraction for anyone in the thick of a crisis.

The world’s fast-growing megacities are mostly in Asia and Africa—a tropical belt that’s at high risk of floods as global warming increases atmospheric moisture and makes downpours that much likelier. Yet, there’s no stopping rapid urbanization.

India is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries. We could reduce the fiscal burden of disaster relief through money invested in high-risk ‘catastrophe bonds’ offering investors high returns. Developing a market for cat bonds will give us the financial shock absorber we need. Act fast.

India’s smallholder farmers face growing threats from erratic weather, yet traditional crop insurance often fails them. Now, the government is exploring a tech-driven and climate-linked model that could deliver faster and fairer payouts at low cost. Will farmers finally get a real safety net?

As natural disasters rise, there’s an urgent case to be made for offering psychological first aid to affected people within the first 72 hours

Devastating floods and landslides in India’s Himalayan states expose more than nature’s fury. Policy gaps, poorly planned infra projects and weak enforcement of environmental norms have worsened vulnerabilities. Why have risks multiplied? People must demand answers.

Mass empowerment can deliver disaster resilience and a stronger economy. Bangladesh’s secret has been the dramatic rise in the role played by women in both. Pakistan must learn from the country that was once its eastern province.