A recent United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) report highlights the disproportionate impact of extreme weather events on the income of rural women in India, particularly due to drought and heat stress. Despite being one of the most affected regions globally, rural communities and their climate vulnerabilities are inadequately addressed in national climate plans. The study reveals that female-headed rural households face greater financial losses compared to male-headed families, with women experiencing an 8% income reduction due to heat stress and a 3% reduction due to floods.
The FAO report, titled ‘Unjust Climate,’ underscores the widening income gap between genders in rural areas as temperatures rise. Findings indicate that if global temperatures increase by just 1°C, rural women could face a staggering 34% greater loss in their total incomes compared to men. The analysis, based on socioeconomic data from over 100,000 rural households across 24 Lower Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), including India, emphasizes the urgent need for targeted climate action plans to address the specific vulnerabilities faced by rural communities, particularly women, youth, and the economically disadvantaged.
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