Low Climate Resilience in Asia
Nine South Asian cities rank as the least climate-resilient globally in a new assessment.
Anonymous
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AlphaGeo found that nine of the cities with the highest resilience-adjusted risk scores were located in South Asia, with Ahmedabad and Pakistan’s Hyderabad tied at 41, Multan at 38, and Dhaka at 36.
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Dhaka had the highest raw physical-risk score among all 72 cities, scoring 60 before adaptation measures were taken into account; its resilience-adjusted risk score remained 36.
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The assessment also ranked Bangalore 12th and Chennai 15th among the cities with the highest resilience-adjusted risk, indicating that climate vulnerability extends beyond the six South Asian cities highlighted in the overall ranking.
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AlphaGeo cautioned that its citywide analysis can mask major differences between neighborhoods, meaning residents within the same city may face substantially different levels of climate exposure and protection.
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The report identified high adaptation efficiency in Chinese cities such as Beijing and Tianjin, while Addis Ababa joined Chicago among the cities classified as highly resilient.
Nine South Asian cities rank among the world's least climate-resilient urban centers, according to a new AlphaGeo assessment of 72 major cities globally. Gizmodo reports that Ahmedabad, India and Hyderabad, Pakistan tied for the worst overall score of 41, followed by Multan at 38 and Dhaka at 36. The region's vulnerability stems from limited investment in infrastructure, early-warning systems, and urban planning — not geography alone.
Dhaka recorded the highest raw physical-risk score among all cities assessed, hitting 60 before adaptation measures were factored in. Yet even after accounting for existing protections, Dhaka's resilience-adjusted risk remained dangerously high at 36. AOL notes that Chicago ranked as the most climate-resilient city globally, powered by a temperate climate and decades of flood-control investment.
South Asian Cities Face Compounding Climate Hazards
South Asian cities confront extreme exposure to flooding, heat waves, drought, and monsoon-related disasters. English Gujarat Samachar reports that Ahmedabad ranks as the world's single least climate-resilient major city. Beyond the top six, Bangalore placed 12th and Chennai 15th on the vulnerability index — evidence that climate risk extends across the entire region.
Five Pakistani cities made the global bottom 10: Hyderabad, Multan, Lahore, Faisalabad, and Karachi, Abb Takk News reports. The concentration of high-risk cities in Pakistan and India underscores how geography, combined with weak adaptation infrastructure, creates outsized danger for the region's urban residents.
Adaptation Investment, Not Hazard Exposure, Determines Resilience
Geography alone does not seal a city's climate fate. Cities facing similar hazards can achieve dramatically lower residual risk through stronger adaptation measures. AOL notes that Chinese cities like Beijing and Tianjin demonstrated high adaptation efficiency, reducing their climate-adjusted risk scores substantially. Addis Ababa joined Chicago as highly resilient cities despite diverse geographic settings.
The gap between Dhaka's raw physical-risk score (60) and its adjusted score (36) shows how adaptation measures matter — yet South Asian cities have invested far less in flood barriers, early-warning systems, and resilient urban planning than their global counterparts. Without accelerated infrastructure spending, the region's residents will remain disproportionately exposed.
Neighborhood Disparities Mask Citywide Climate Risk
AlphaGeo cautioned that its citywide analysis obscures critical neighborhood-level differences. Gizmodo notes residents within the same city may face substantially different climate exposure and protection. A wealthy district in Ahmedabad could enjoy better drainage and cooling infrastructure than a slum just blocks away — making individual risk highly unequal even within single cities.
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