Key takeaways from CSE’s State of India’s Environment 2023: In Figures

By Aayushi Sharma

Recently, The State of India’s Environment 2023: In Figures was published by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) with Down to Earth. The performance of India’s states has been examined and graded in this study based on four important criteria. Using information that would otherwise remain cold statistics, the report focuses on parameters like, state of climate and extreme weather, agriculture, energy, health, food and nutrition, migration and displacement, waste, water and biodiversity.

Key findings of the reports in different areas

1. State of air : Air pollution is estimated to have reduced the average life expectancy of Indians by four years and 11 months. Given that their average life expectancy has been reduced by five years and two months, people living in rural regions are probably the hardest affected. Their metropolitan counterparts have nine months longer average lifespans.

1. On illegal use of plastic: The Central Pollution Control Board released a smartphone application called SUP-CPCB that allows users to report the sale and usage of unlawful plastic in July 2022, the same month India prohibited single-use plastics. The term “a dismal redressal rate” referred to a decrease in the volume of complaints.
2. Municipal solid waste: India produced more than 160,000 tonnes of municipal solid trash per day in 2020–21; 32% of this was unaccounted for. Typically, this unexplained garbage is burned illegally or clogs drains. On the plus side, waste management and oversight in the nation have improved.
3. Extreme weather events: India suffered extreme weather events on 314 of the 365 days in 2022, which resulted in the loss of nearly 3,026 lives and damage to 1.96 million hectares of cropland. Heatwaves were frequent in the first half of 2022, but hailstorms took over as the most frequent extreme weather event in 2023.
4. Internal Displacement and migration due to Climate disasters: In 2022, the La Nina weather phenomena and the Ukraine war resulted in almost 60 million more displaced persons around the world. Nearly all of the 2.51 million additional displaced people in India were caused by climate-related disasters.

The indicators and their weightages

INDICATOR	WEIGHTAGE
Change in forest cover in 2021 from 2019	3
Share of total municipal solid waste that gets treated (2020-21)	1.5
Share of total sewage that gets treated	1.5
Change in installed grid renewable power in 2020-21 over 2019-20	1
% change in number of polluted river stretches in 2022 over 2018	1
Stage of ground water extraction	1
% of water bodies not in use in 2022	1

Here is the ranking of the states according to the report:

Telangana was given a score of 7.23 as having the best overall environmental performance in the report due to its advancements in growing its forest cover and in the management of municipal trash. However, the state performed lower than average in parameters including “change in number of polluted river stretches,” “stage of groundwater extraction,” and “share of water bodies not in use.”

Telangana is followed by Gujarat, Goa, and Maharashtra whereas, Rajasthan, Nagaland, and Bihar are on the lowest rank. Six northeastern states, including Assam, are among the bottom 10 states, as well.

The image shows ranking of the states as per their environmental performance score

Other key highlights of the report are:

• In terms of net value added in agriculture, Madhya Pradesh tops the list thanks to an increase in foodgrain output. However, the state’s cropland is still just partially covered.
• Delhi is the leader in public health; it has given health the largest budgetary share and boasts of a well-connected system of medical services. However, Delhi has a low immunization rate. 
• Madhya Pradesh has a high incidence of maternal and newborn mortality rates. Chhattisgarh, Assam, and Uttar Pradesh are also in the bottom half. 
• Gujarat tops the list for human development and public infrastructure because of its success in creating jobs and connecting people to the water supply. However, the state has a low sex ratio and a significant percentage of rural households who use unhygienic cooking fuels.

India’s ranking was derived, according to the research team at Down to Earth, from the SDG Index and Dashboards Report 2022 published by Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the years 2017–2022. The Niti Aayog’s SDG India Index Report  2020-21 is the basis for the state-level rating; the team assessed the 2020 and 2019 scores for this report.

References: 

• https://www.cseindia.org/marks-world-environment-day-with-release-of-its-annual-compendium-of-data-the-state-of-india-s-environment-2023-in-figures-11744
• https://climatefactchecks.org/india-witnessed-extreme-weather-events-almost-every-day-during-jan-sept-in-2022/
• https://twitter.com/sknatesan/status/1665556359566311426?s=20
• https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agriculture/cse-dte-mark-world-environment-day-with-release-of-state-of-india-s-environment-2023-in-figures-89791
• https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agriculture/state-of-india-s-environment-2023-in-figures-how-cse-dte-ranked-indian-states-89793