Shifting sands:In this photo dated May 4, 2019, houses and fishing boats damaged by Cyclone Fani are seen at Penthakata village in Odisha.Biswaranjan Rout  

India had one in five of all internal displacements caused by disasters across the world in 2019, mostly caused by floods, cyclones and drought, according to the State of India’s Environment in Figures 2020 report released on Thursday. Also, 19 major extreme weather events claimed 1,357 lives last year.

There were more than 50 lakh internal displacements in India last year, the highest in the world. This refers to the number of movements, not people, as individuals can be displaced several times, said research and advocacy organisation Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), which published the report.

Flooding caused by the southwest monsoon led to 26 lakh displacements, while Cyclone Fani alone led to 18 lakh displacements, followed by cyclones Vayu and Bulbul. On the other hand, drought conditions in 19 States led to another 63,000 displacements.

Apart from such forced migrations, many move for work. With migrant workers in the news due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, the report also broke down 2011 census data on migrant populations. There were over 45 crore migrants in the country at the time, with the vast majority migrating within their own State. In 2011, over 1.7 crore new migrants had moved for employment purposes, mostly from rural to urban areas.

Shrinking forests

The compilation also offers a snapshot of data on forests, water, waste, air, land, wildlife and other natural resources. It notes that there were 747 more tigers in 2018 than in 2014. However, the net area meant for tiger conservation shrunk by 179 sq.km. Forest cover has shrunk in 38% of districts, while five out of 21 river basins are now in a state of absolute water scarcity.

CSE also publishes the environment magazine Down to Earth . Its managing editor Richard Mahapatra, in a foreword to the report, said, “Each data is a story. It will raise your curiosity towards a development and will help you understand its impact better.”

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