Indian cities may create 70% of new jobs by 2030, likely to lose $5 billion to floods yearly: Study

Indian cities are expected to create more than 70% of new jobs by 2030, but risk losing $5 billion annually from urban flooding, according to a new study by the World Bank and the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs released on Tuesday.

A report based on the study pointed out that the urban population is expected to nearly double to 951 million by 2050.

It said that against the backdrop of the rapid growth, climate change and the patterns of urbanisation were putting cities at increasing risk of flooding, caused by intense rainfall and extreme heat.

Without adaptation measures, losses due to urban floods could reach between $14 billion and $30 billion by 2070, it added.

The report also highlighted the growing threat of pluvial flooding, or flash flooding, in Indian cities. The risk of such events is expected to increase by 3.6 times to 7 times by 2070.

“The increasingly uncertain and intense rainfall associated with climate change and more erratic monsoons together with increases in areas of impervious surfaces associated with urban expansion is creating frequent flooding, resulting in damage and service disruptions,” the report stated.

The population of those exposed to a once-in-100-year flood could increase four times from 11.1 million in 2023 to 46.4 million by 2070, it...

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