India needs adaptability, not reactive climate action

June 2026 recorded a 40% rainfall deficit, the fifth driest June in over a century, according to the India Meteorological Department.

Central India saw a 45% rainfall deficit, followed by east and northeast India at 40%, and the southern peninsula at 26%.

Days with over 150 mm rainfall increased by nearly 75% between 1950 and 2015, and extreme rainfall events in central India tripled while average monsoon rainfall declined.

India’s climate response remains reactive and uneven, with constrained adaptive capacity in many states, as highlighted by the Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment 2025 report by the Institute for Competitiveness.