This blog post summarizes and interprets a new assessment by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Down To Earth that documents the scale of extreme weather in India during January–September 2025.
It reviews the key findings derived from IMD and government data, outlines who and what were most affected, and provides an expert perspective on why these trends matter for climate resilience, agriculture, and public policy.
Key findings from the 2025 assessment
The joint CSE / Down To Earth analysis finds that extreme weather struck India on 270 of 273 days between January and September 2025. The report combines meteorological records with official damage and fatality data to quantify human, agricultural and livestock losses.
Major aggregate figures from the report include:
Nature and distribution of events
Different hazards contributed to this heavy toll. Lightning and thunderstorms caused 1,456 deaths, while heavy rain, floods and landslips were responsible for 2,440 fatalities.
Heatwaves occurred on 52 days across 19 states and union territories. Cloudbursts killed 135 people, and snowfall claimed 12 lives.
The monsoon season was the deadliest period, responsible for 3,007 deaths and the majority of crop losses.
Regional patterns and hotspots
The report highlights stark regional differences: the northwest experienced the most frequent extremes and the highest death toll (1,342). Himachal Pradesh recorded extreme weather on 217 days — the most for any state.
Among states, Madhya Pradesh reported the highest fatalities (532), followed by Andhra Pradesh (484) and Jharkhand (478).
These spatial patterns reflect local vulnerability. Topography, population exposure, agricultural calendars and emergency preparedness all shape the human cost of each event.
Trends over recent years
Compared with 2022, extreme-weather days increased from 241 to 270 in 2025. Fatalities rose by 48%, and crop losses more than quadrupled.
Implications for policy, agriculture and data systems
More extreme events mean larger and more frequent shocks to food systems, infrastructure and public health. Farmers face repeated losses that undermine recovery, and disaster response systems are stretched by near-continual emergencies.
Two immediate priorities emerge:
What stakeholders must do next
Government, researchers and civil society must collaborate to translate these data into action. That means investing in resilient agriculture and expanding social protection for loss of income.
Retrofitting vulnerable infrastructure is essential. Institutionalizing transparent loss tracking is also necessary.
Here is the source article for this story: Extreme weather events claim 4,064 lives across India in nine months, CSE report