Article

Disrupted by Climate

Heritage Management and Disaster Response in India

With an occurrence of 73 per cent of all natural disasters worldwide, Asia is by far the continent most exposed to disasters and it is increasingly affected by climate change impact. The urgency in climate change adaptation correlates with a broad infrastructure and population exposure, including millions of indigenous people who are the custodians of traditional knowledge systems and irreplaceable cultural assets. Globally, climate change impact on cultural heritage still requires research to better inform policy makers and their strategic decisions on environmental sustainability alongside cultural heritage preservation.

In South Asia, the existing challenges are exacerbated by extreme weather events combined with some persistent hurdles in enhancing disaster risk management (DRM) awareness and preparedness. By 2050, it is estimated that the number of floods will increase by 25% per cent and tropical cyclones will also steadily increase in South Asia. India is among the most vulnerable areas to natural hazards with a fragile infrastructure and financial gaps, alongside disparate levels of disaster preparedness across its different states.

Conservation professionals and institutions have continuously highlighted resilience gaps and emphasized the need to develop a holistic approach across climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and heritage management.

While climate-related events such as extreme heat, extreme rainfall, drought, sea-level rise or storms are observed more frequently on an annual basis, the disaster exposure and vulnerability index of each institution/location is dependent on multiple factors and can only be determined contextually, in relation to the level of climate awareness, disaster resilience as well as existing policy frameworks and socio-economic features in the local communities.   

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Co-authored by Achal Pandya and Pranab Chakraborty, IGNCA, New Delhi.

Read the full article in Conservation Perspectives, Getty Conservation Institute (Spring 2026)