Lives lost to natural disasters rise 18% to 3,080 in 2024-25

New Delhi: The number of human lives lost due to extreme natural events rose to an 11-year high of 3,080 in 2024-25, according to the latest data released by the government on Thursday. In comparison, 2,616 deaths were recorded in 2023-24. The highest number of fatalities in the past two decades occurred in 2013-14 at 5,677.

Among the states/UTs, Himachal Pradesh recorded the highest number of disaster-related deaths at 452 in 2024-25, followed by Kerala (387), Madhya Pradesh (373), Gujarat (230) and Maharashtra (206).

Such events also led to widespread damage to homes, with 360,000 households affected in 2024-25 compared to 140,000 in 2023-24. Assam was the worst hit state, with 160,000 households damaged, according to EnviStats India 2025: Environment Statistics released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI).


The report was launched on the occasion of World Environment Day by chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran, Niti Aayog vice chairperson Suman Bery and MoSPI secretary Saurabh Garg.

Data showed that agricultural losses also increased as the cropped area impacted rose to 1.424 million hectares from 1.339 million hectares in the same period.

Meanwhile, the number of cattle deaths due to natural calamities declined to 61,960 in 2024-25 from a five-year high of 119,683 in 2023-24.

The government incurred an expense of ₹4,969 crore in 2022-23 on environmental protection, an increase of 10.9% from ₹4,479 crore in the year before.

While government spending on environmental protection increased, corporate expenditure declined. Corporate spending on environmental protection under corporate social responsibility (CSR) declined by 5% to ₹2,605.6 crore in 2022-23 from an eight-year high of ₹2,741.3 crore in 2021-22. This expenditure covered three sectors: agro forestry, conservation of natural resources and environmental sustainability.