Impact of COVID-19 and Climate Change on Poverty

According to the World Bank, many people who had barely escaped extreme poverty could be forced back into it by the convergence of COVID-19, conflict, and climate change.
It is estimated that 88 million to 115 million people will be pushed into extreme poverty, bringing the total to between 703 and 729 million.
There will be the emergence of the ‘New poor’ who will:
- Be more urban than the chronically poor.
- Be more engaged in informal services and manufacturing and less in agriculture.
- Live in congested urban settings and work in the sectors most affected by lockdowns and mobility restrictions.
Middle-income countries like India and Nigeria are expected to be heavily impacted, potentially housing about 82% of the newly impoverished population.
The effects of the present crisis are likely to continue in most countries until 2030. Achieving the global goal of reducing absolute poverty to less than 3 percent by 2030, which was already challenging before the crisis, is now unlikely without rapid and significant policy actions.

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The World Bank in a report titled ‘ South Asia’s Hotspots: The Impact of Temperature and Precipitation Changes on Living Standards’ concludes that climate change could accentuate poverty and inequality in India.
According to the report, rising temperatures and changing monsoon rainfall patterns from climate change could cost India 2.8 per cent of GDP and depress the living standards of nearly half the country’s population by 2050.
This decline is living standard can be attributed to can be attributed to a fall in agricultural yield and the health impact effected by such a change.
According to the report, central, northern and north-western India are most vulnerable to change in climate adding that the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh could see a decline in living standards of up to 9 per cent.
According to another study by Centre for Economics, Environment and Society, Climate Change will not only increase the population living under poverty but also aggravate the conditions of those living in poverty.
Climate change, through rising temperatures and increasing precipitation, affects agricultural productivity and food prices. Thus, it will drag the rural incomes back to below the poverty line and erode the gains made by India in rural poverty reduction since the reforms in 1991.
Climate Change will also worsen India’ performance on social indices and hinder the achievement of the sustainable development goals.

Poverty and Women in India

The burden of poverty weighs down heavier on girls and women in India than it does on the opposite sex. According to an Oxfam report, in the workplace, women still receive 34% less wages than their male counterparts for the same work.
In India, girls belonging to families in the top 20% get nine years of education on average, while girls from families in the bottom 20% get none at all. Even those who make it to school are often pulled out due to financial reasons.
In addition, more than 23 million girls drop out of school annually because of a lack of toilets in school and proper menstrual hygiene management facilities.
Women in India spend around five hours a day on unpaid care work while men devote a mere half an hour on average. This disproportionate burden of unpaid care work by women means they lose out on opportunities to participate in paid labour or are forced to undertake paid labour leading to their time poverty and loss in well-being.
Being the cornerstone of the family, women can have a great impact not only on the household income, but also on the education of children (including sanitation), and avoiding early child deaths due to bad habits, sanitation or improper food or water.
The feminization of poverty may be caused by changes in Family composition, Family organization, Inequality in the access to public services or in social protection.

COVID-19 has exacerbated poverty levels globally by disrupting economies, leading to job losses, decreased incomes, and increased inequality. Lockdown measures and disruptions in supply chains have particularly affected informal workers and those in low-income sectors, pushing many further into poverty.

COVID-19 and climate change intersect in their disproportionate impacts on vulnerable populations, exacerbating poverty. Both crises disproportionately affect low-income communities, who often lack access to healthcare, resources, and infrastructure resilience. Additionally, climate change can indirectly exacerbate the spread of diseases, amplifying the health and economic burdens on impoverished regions.

Climate change exacerbates poverty by increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, and storms. These events destroy homes, infrastructure, and livelihoods, disproportionately affecting impoverished communities who lack resources to adapt or recover. With COVID-19, these impacts are amplified as communities face simultaneous health, economic, and environmental crises.

The combined effects of COVID-19 and climate change on poverty could lead to a protracted humanitarian crisis. Increased poverty rates could persist for years, hindering economic recovery and exacerbating social inequalities. Moreover, the compounding effects of these crises may create a cycle of vulnerability, making it harder for affected communities to recover and build resilience against future shocks.

Mitigating the impact of COVID-19 and climate change on poverty requires a multifaceted approach. This includes strengthening social safety nets, providing targeted assistance to vulnerable populations, investing in resilient infrastructure and healthcare systems, promoting sustainable livelihoods, and prioritizing equitable access to resources and opportunities. Additionally, international cooperation and climate action are crucial for addressing the root causes of poverty and building a more resilient future for all.

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