Introduction

Last month, extreme heat caused record-breaking electricity demand in Delhi, leading to frequent power cuts. Similar problems occurred in central and eastern India. The lack of electricity and high night temperatures made life difficult and may have caused heat-related deaths. This surge in demand highlights the stress that critical infrastructure faces from extreme weather.

The Vulnerability of Critical Infrastructure

• 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 thus a crucial component of climate change adaptation.

Mounting Losses

• While early warnings and quick response have significantly reduced human casualties in disasters, economic and other losses from extreme weather events and disasters have been
• This is mainly due to the increase in frequency and intensity of such events. Government data show that in the five years between 2018 and 2023, states together spent more than ₹1.5 lakh crore on dealing with the aftermath of disasters and natural calamities.
• This is just the immediate expenditure. Long-term costs, in terms of livelihood losses, or because of a reduction in the fertility of agricultural land, are much bigger and projected to worsen over
• A 2022 World Bank report projected that the decline in productivity due to heat-related stress could take away around 34 million jobs in India by 2030.
• Just the food wastage, on account of transporting food items in non-air-conditioned trucks and containers, was already worth about $9 billion annually, as per the report.
• The damage caused to critical infrastructure like transportation, telecommunications, and power supply by disasters and extreme weather events is often not counted in government figures, particularly when these services are privately owned.
• But this damage causes massive disruptions and makes the disaster

Incorporating Resilience

• Almost all the infrastructure sectors now have disaster management plans in place to prepare and respond to these events.
• For instance, hospitals in disaster-prone areas are equipping themselves with backup power supplies, airports and railways are taking steps to avoid, or quickly drain out, waterlogging, and telecommunication lines are being taken
• But progress on this front has been slow, and a bulk of India’s infrastructure remains extremely vulnerable to disasters.
• In the first of its kind exercise in any Indian state, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), carried out a study of the electricity transmission   and   distribution

infrastructure in Odisha, a state at high risk from cyclones. It found that the state’s infrastructure was extremely fragile.

• The study revealed that more than 30 percent of the distribution substations were located within 20 km of the coastline, and 80 percent of the electricity poles were susceptible to high wind
• Simplify Also, more than 75 percent of distribution lines were installed more than 30 years ago and do not have the capacity to withstand cyclonic winds.

The Role of CDRI

• CDRI was created in 2019 with the express objective of making critical infrastructure resilient to natural disasters.
• An international body headquartered in India, CDRI is supposed to develop into a knowledge hub for implementing these transitions.
• More than 30 countries are now part of this coalition and are working with CDRI to strengthen their infrastructure.
• But only a few states in India have so far sought the expertise and collaboration of
• India is still in the process of developing its Most of the infrastructure that has been proposed to stand in India by 2030 is still to be built.
• It is much easier and cost-effective to incorporate disaster resilience at the time of building than to retrofit these features at a later stage.
• All the upcoming infrastructure projects need to be climate-smart—not just sustainable and energy-efficient, but also resilient to disasters.

Conclusion

India must prioritize building resilient infrastructure to tackle increasing challenges from extreme weather and disasters. By investing in climate-smart solutions and leveraging initiatives like CDRI, India can lead in creating stable and sustainable systems that protect communities across the globe and ensure long-term safety and stability.