District-level climate vulnerability assessment in Meghalaya using an IPCC AR5 framework

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Climate Change Adaptation
• Socio-economic vulnerability assessment

Background:

• Climate change presents significant risks to vulnerable regions like Meghalaya in the Indian Himalayas.
• Assessing district-level climate vulnerability is crucial for targeted adaptation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess and compare climate vulnerability across Meghalaya districts.
• To identify key drivers of vulnerability and inform adaptation planning.
• To develop a replicable framework for vulnerability assessment in data-scarce mountainous areas.

Main Methods:

• An indicator-based framework using eight biophysical and socio-economic indicators (2020-2024).
• Data normalization, expert-assigned indicator weights, and Composite Vulnerability Indices (CVI) generation.
• Geographic Information System (GIS)-based spatial analysis to attribute indicator contributions.

Main Results:

• West Khasi Hills and East Garo Hills identified as most vulnerable districts.
• Vulnerability drivers include steep slopes, forest degradation, and high poverty.
• East Jaintia Hills and South West Khasi Hills show lower vulnerability due to adaptive capacities.

Conclusions:

• Enhancing forest conservation and livelihood diversification is critical for high-risk districts.
• Strengthening social protection mechanisms is essential for reducing climate vulnerability.
• The study provides a replicable model for rapid vulnerability assessment in data-scarce mountainous regions.