Climate change increased the damage caused by Cyclone Arnab by 33%. The storm struck eastern India on October 28, and a study says warming added tens of millions of dollars in direct economic losses against a pre-industrial climate.
Arnab brought intense rain, peak 1-minute sustained winds of up to 202 kilometres per hour, and severe damage to infrastructure across Andhra Pradesh.
The study, by researchers at Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute, was published on Thursday, November 5, 2026. They used the Imperial College Storm Model (IRIS) to simulate Arnab under today’s conditions, 1.3°C above pre-industrial levels, and in a counterfactual climate without human-induced warming.
Warming raised Arnab’s maximum wind speed by about 5% and its eyewall rainfall rate at landfall by 11%. Direct damage to physical assets in India was 33% higher, and roughly 25% of the total economic damage is attributed directly to climate change.
This is not a natural disaster. It is a bill for emissions. The fossil fuel corporations and the governments that shield them, the Modi government included, do not pay it. The coastal poor do.
🔗 Source: The Hindu (PTI), 5 November 2026 — https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/climate-change-increased-tropical-cyclone-arnabs-damage-by-33-study/article71669447.ece
