ENVISTATs 2025 : Summary

By: Vaishnavi Verma Subcomponent 1.1 Physical Conditions

• Physical changes in environment slowly due to human activities

• Statement 1.01

• The annual mean temperature shows a gradual upward trend, increasing from 25.05°C in 2001 to 25.74°C in 2024, reflecting overall warming across India.

• Both 2023 and 2024 reflect record-breaking seasonal heat, signaling intensifying climate impacts.

• Statement 1.02

• The data from 2001 to 2024 shows a consistent rise in both annual minimum (2001: 19.32°C to 2024: 20.24°C) and maximum temperatures (2001: 30.78°C to 2024: 31.25°C) across India, indicating a clear warming trend.

• Diurnal temperature range (difference between max and min) is narrowing, especially in recent years, possibly affecting agriculture and human health.

• The year 2022 stands out as one of the hottest years, followed closely by 2023 and 2024.

• Statement 1.03

• Annual rainfall fluctuated significantly, ranging from a low of 923.7 mm in 2002 to a high of 1296.0 mm in 2020.

• Peak rainfall frequently occurred in July and August, with 2010 (July: 287.5 mm) and 2020 (August: 299.9 mm) among the highest

• Changing Precipitation Patterns : Winter months (Decembe r- February) generally have low rainfall, though recent years like 2021 and 2023 show unusual spikes, e.g., February 2023: 19.7 mm,

• Statement 1.04(a)

• India’s total wetland area is 16894623.65 hectares - 5.12% of total area in India.

• The major wetland covering areas of India are plotted below and it seems, Andhra Pradesh covers the largest, followed by West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. 

3. Gujarat has the highest coastal wetland area at 1.26 million hectares.

Comparison Chart 1.04 (a)

1. Statement 1.04(b) 

2. Union Territories like Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Ladakh, and Puducherry have minimal wetland area and count.

3. Although Andhra Pradesh covers largest wetland area, but West Bengal has highest number of wetlands.c) Smaller wetlands (<0.1 ha), though numerous (over 1 million), contribute only ~0.3% of the total wetland area.

Wetland Counts

• Statement 1.05a) Largest Watershed Areas 

River	Sub-Basin	Area (Sq. Km)
Brahmaputra	Brahmaputra Main	124,867.19
Ganga	Ghaghra to Gomti Confluence	56,254.18
Godavari	Godavari Lower	46,429.07
Krishna	Krishna Upper	54,504.77
Mahanadi	Mahanadi Lower	57,985.08

b) Smallest: 205-937 (East flowing rivers between Krishna & Pennar)

c) Largest: 205-1,758 (Krishna Upper, Mahanadi Middle)

Component 2 Environmental Resources and their Use

• Six Sub-Components of use: Mineral, energy, land, soil, biological and water resources. 

• Mineral resources, energy resources: 2-key topics  covered in report…a) Stocks and changes in minerals resources

b) Production & trade of minerals

• Land Resource:

• Land Use

• Use of Forest Land

• Mineral Resources : Fuel Mineral (coal, lignite, natural gas, petroleum) , Metallic Minerals, Non-Metallic Minerals

• Coal production shows steady increase from 675.4 million tonnes to 1047.7 million tonnes in 2024-2025.

• Total inventory of geological reserves also shown an increase from 2012 to 2024.

Graph - 1

• Primary surplus of coal = production + net imports + net stock change

• Throughout 2011-2024, supply of coal > supply of lignite

• Total surplus of coal has shown an increasing trend while lignite is stable. 

• Electricity : from 2011-12 to 2015-16, gross electricity imports > exports

• But from 2014-15, exports increased and surpassed imports by 2017-18.

• In terms of irrigation, tubewells emerge largest source of net irrigated area  from 1996 to 2023.

• Net irrigated area shows increase from 55,112.20 thousand hectares in 1997-98 to 79,312 thousand hectares in 2022-23 (provisional)

• Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan are the top three states with total areas as 20,55,469.58 hectares, 11,71,187.47 hectares and 9,78,682.00 hectares under organic farming (total cultivated area + area under wild collection).

• Consumption of pesticides in India was fluctuating from 2001 but after a spike to a peak of 63.41 thousand tonnes, the consumption remained high but declined reaching 53.63 thousand tonnes in 20223-23 ~~~~~ a shift towards organic and sustainable farming methods.

• Livestock population in India has gone up from 292.8 Million in 1951 to 536.76 million in 2019. (Cattle & Buffaloes) 

• Inland fish production risen from 48.94 to 139.07 lakh tonnes from 2010-2024.

• Marines production despite slow growth has increased 31.04 lakh tonnes to 44.95 lakh tonnes from 2010-2024.

Component 4 Extreme Events & Disasters

• Technological Disasters : disaster caused by human actions, negligence, errors or failures in technological systems.

Heat Waves (Statement 4.01)

• Rising Trend: Significant increase in average heat wave days during summer (April–June) across Indian States/UTs from 2010 to 2024.

• States Affected: States like Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand showed a rise in 2024 compared to 2023.

• Highest Impact in 2024: Punjab (22 days) and Uttarakhand (22 days) recorded the maximum average number of heat wave days.

Natural Hazard-Related Deaths (Statement 4.08)

• Lightning as Leading Cause: From 2017 to 2022, lightning caused the highest number of deaths (ranging from 2357 in 2018 to 2887 in 2022).

• Heat Stroke: A major contributor in 2017 and 2022.

• Other Causes: Floods, cyclones/tornadoes/tsunamis, and miscellaneous causes added to death tolls, though to a lesser extent.

• Low Impact Causes: Earthquakes and epidemics had relatively low death rates throughout the years.

• Emerging Concern: “Causes other than above” category showed a gradual rise in both number and percentage of total deaths over six years.