Climate change has not traditionally been seen as a health and human rights concern — but that may be changing following recent high-profile court cases. On April 9, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of a group of elderly Swiss women who claimed the government’s inadequate efforts to combat climate change put them at risk of dying during heatwaves. And in India, the Supreme Court on April 6 recognised a right against the adverse effects of climate change as a distinct fundamental right in the Constitution.

According to a new study, nearly all of India is vulnerable to increases in extreme climate events like cyclones, droughts, floods and heatwaves.

As the world marked five years of the landmark Paris Agreement on Climate Change, it also provided for an opportunity to take stock. Over the past five years, our knowledge of the exact nature of the risks of climate change impacts, as well as the opportunities to mitigate against them, have become more refined. This week’s column takes a look at one such report that came out around that date, focusing on India’s climate change challenges.