Ahmedabad Ranked World’s Least Climate-Resilient Major City

Ahmedabad has been ranked the world’s least climate-resilient major city, with high exposure to climate risks and gaps in adaptation measures putting it at the bottom of a new global assessment.

Ahmedabad Ranks Worst Among 72 Major Cities

The ranking was prepared by geospatial risk analytics firm AlphaGeo, which assessed 72 of the world’s largest cities based on their exposure to climate hazards and their ability to adapt to them.

The assessment uses a simple measure of resilience: climate risk is weighed against the level of adaptation in place to deal with those risks.

Ahmedabad tied for the bottom position with Hyderabad in Pakistan, emerging as the least climate-resilient major city in the assessment.

Flooding, Heat And Monsoon Extremes Drive Risk

AlphaGeo assessed cities for exposure to inland and coastal flooding, heat stress, drought, wildfires and hurricane winds.

The analysis then considered measures such as early warning systems, governance and infrastructure, including drainage networks and flood barriers, to determine how effectively cities are equipped to deal with these threats.

For Ahmedabad, the combination of high exposure to flooding and extreme monsoon conditions with inadequate adaptation measures contributed to its poor ranking.

The finding comes against the backdrop of Ahmedabad's recurring problems with waterlogging, flooding and extreme rainfall during the monsoon.

Other South Asian Cities Also Among Least Resilient

The ranking shows a wider vulnerability across South Asian cities.

After Ahmedabad, the least climate-resilient cities included Hyderabad and Multan in Pakistan, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Lahore in Pakistan and Kolkata in India.

Other Indian cities also featured in the ranking. Bengaluru was placed 12th, Chennai 15th, Delhi 22nd and Mumbai 45th among the least climate-resilient cities.

The concentration of South Asian cities near the bottom reflects the region's exposure to intense rainfall, flooding and other climate-related stresses, alongside shortcomings in adaptation infrastructure.

Chicago Tops Global Resilience Ranking

At the other end of the ranking, Chicago emerged as the world's most climate-resilient city.

The US city benefited from a relatively temperate climate and decades of investment in flood-mitigation infrastructure, including an extensive underground tunnel and reservoir system.

AlphaGeo's assessment seeks to distinguish between the physical climate risks cities face and the measures they have taken to reduce their vulnerability.

For Ahmedabad, the ranking highlights the gap between its growing exposure to extreme weather and the city's existing capacity to manage those risks.