The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted a global sea level rise of about one metre by AD 2100. What would be its impact in India and the other countries in the Indian Ocean region?
Approach · directive: “what would be”
What it asks · Assess how about a metre of sea-level rise by 2100 would affect India's coasts and the island and delta countries of the Indian Ocean region.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Assess the impact of about a metre of sea-level rise by 2100 on India: coasts, ecology, economy and people
- Assess the impact on the other countries of the Indian Ocean region: island and delta states
Open with · Rising seas do not act alone: with storm surges, erosion and subsidence, a metre of rise would push the sea into deltas, aquifers and cities.
Cover
- India: about 7,500 km of coastline; low-lying deltas (Sundarbans, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna), the Kerala backwaters and cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai face flooding.
- Ecology: loss of mangroves, wetlands and beaches; saltwater intrusion into groundwater and farmland; damage to fisheries.
- Infrastructure and economy: ports, coastal roads, power plants and salt pans at risk; higher storm-surge damage and insurance costs.
- People: displacement and migration from coasts and islands such as Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar, and loss of livelihoods.
- Region: the Maldives, whose average ground level is only about a metre and a half above the sea, and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Seychelles face land loss, water stress and migration.
- Response: Coastal Regulation Zone rules, mangrove restoration, early warning, resilient infrastructure, and cooperation such as the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and help to island states.
Close with · India needs adaptation and mitigation together, and regional cooperation to protect the most vulnerable Indian Ocean states.
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2023, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 272 words (UPSC limit 250) · Minimalist IAS
Rising seas do not act alone: combined with storm surges, erosion and land subsidence, a metre of rise would push the sea into deltas, aquifers and cities around the Indian Ocean.
Impact on India
- Coastal flooding: along about 7,500 km of coastline, the low-lying deltas of the Sundarbans, Mahanadi, Godavari and Krishna, the Kerala backwaters and cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai face permanent inundation and more frequent flooding.
- Ecology: mangroves, wetlands and beaches drowned or squeezed against embankments; saltwater intrusion into groundwater and farmland; fisheries damaged as nurseries vanish.
- Economy: ports, coastal roads, power plants and salt pans at risk, with higher storm-surge damage and insurance costs.
- People: displacement from the coasts and from Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, loss of fishing and farming livelihoods, and migration pressure on cities.
Impact on the Indian Ocean region
- The Maldives, whose average ground level is only about a metre and a half above the sea, could lose most of its habitable land and freshwater.
- Bangladesh's delta would lose farmland to salinity and flooding, displacing millions and adding pressure on India's border.
- Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Seychelles face shrinking coasts, damaged reefs and tourism, and water stress.
- Regional security: climate migration, disputes over fishing grounds, and questions over maritime zones as coastlines retreat.
The response needed
- Adaptation: Coastal Regulation Zone rules, mangrove restoration, early-warning systems and resilient infrastructure.
- Cooperation: the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, help to island states and shared monitoring, alongside mitigation to slow the rise itself.
India must adapt at home and lead regional cooperation, because the most vulnerable Indian Ocean states cannot face a rising sea alone.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify). UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.