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Title: Assessing socio-economic vulnerability to climate change: a city-level index-based approach
Author:Malakar K; Mishra T
Source:Climate and Development 9 (2)
Year:2017

The present study attempts to develop indices, indicating the vulnerability to climate change/environmental hazards, for Indian cities located in different bio-climatic zones. The indices generated in the study are based on socio-economic variables and provide a basic overview of the potential vulnerabilities faced by these cities in the context of climate disasters. Eleven cities located in six different bio-climatic zones have been studied. Various indicators of socio-economic vulnerability have been compiled and segregated into the following major components: infrastructure, technology, finance, social and space. This approach of segregation can aid identification of developmental needs essential for minimizing vulnerability. The proxy indicators have been standardized and agglomerated to obtain the respective major components. These components, thereafter, have been combined to obtain the overall vulnerability index. The indices are on a scale of 0–10. The results reveal that, among the selected cities, Jaisalmer is the most vulnerable and Pune is the least vulnerable. Further, the technological and financial indices vary significantly among the 11 cities, but their social capability and infrastructure are comparable. This index can assist in keeping track of vulnerability and planning disaster resilient cities.




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