Climate change caused warming could kill 1.5 million Indians each year by 2100

On a day when India’s capital city continued to be engulfed in toxic post-Diwali smog, a new study provided a peek into the country’s bleak future if greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow at high rates: a spike in temperatures, and with it, a rise in mortality. Released at an event in Delhi yesterday (Oct. 31), the report by the Climate Impact Lab in collaboration with the Tata Centre for Development at UChicago estimates that by 2100, around 1.5 million more people could die in India each year due to climate change. Six states, Uttar Pradesh (402,280), Bihar (136,372), Rajasthan (121,809), Andhra Pradesh (116,920), Madhya Pradesh (108,370), and Maharashtra (106,749) are estimated to contribute 64% of the total excess deaths. The study looks at two different scenarios for estimating temperature rise and its impact on mortality.