Odisha is experiencing the most extreme climatic condition for a decade ranging from heat weave to cyclone and from drought to flood.
The state has been declared disaster affected for 95 times within the 105 years. The state is worst effected by sunstroke. State government has asked the centre to include heat wave in the calamity relief funds considering the acute situation in Orissa. About 2787 people have died due to the sunstroke from 1998 to 2009.
Starting from the northern coasts of Orissa to the southern coasts, many villages have been the victim of the wrath of the ocean. The villages most affected by the climate change are the coastal villages in the district of Kendrapara. The cluster of seven villages called Satabhaya is the burning example. 1930 land records show an area of 320 sq km for the Satabhaya cluster near the port town of Paradip in Orissa. The 2000 land records indicate that this area has been reduced to 155 sq km with five of the seven villages being swallowed by the sea. The first to vanish into the sea in the early 1980s were Govindpur, Mahnipur and Kuanriora villages. Two more villages — Kharikula and Sarpada were submerged in the mid-1990s.
Even, a fishermen village on the coasts at Gopalpur in Ganjam district is completely submerged in the sea due to rise of sea level. Frequent disaster in Orissa already killed 22,228 people from 1963 to 1999 many people and till date 34, 21,000 people became homeless in Orissa left many children alone as orphan, disabled, and missing. This will increase the vulnerability of children.
Natural calamities have seriously affected the agriculture condition now. In western Orissa food production drastically reduced .52%of the state land suffer erosion due to deforestation.4, 90,000 hector of fertile land are waterloging. Any change in rainfall pattern poses a serious threat to the agriculture production.2 degree rise in temperature was estimated to reduce production of pearl-millet by 10 to 15 percent. The state food production already reduced to 40 percent in 50 years. Global warming will hamper to the production of paddy drastically which is the prime food in south Asia. This will create a terrible problem in fighting child hunger and malnutrition.
Migration and displacement will be rampant which already started due to natural disaster. Many children who are pushed out from school are and working in worst condition. In western Orissa also the situation is worsening. A study says that one meter sea rise will hamper to an area of 170,000 hector of prime agriculture land and displaced 0.7 million people in Orissa.
Heat touches 51 degree Celsius in Western part of Orissa (Titilagarh in Bolangir Dist). The average temperature in the state is 40 degree which affects children health very much. Number of water borne and vector borne diseases reported now. Malria is coming back due to rise in temperature. Small pox, Chicken pox and Chicken Gunia are coming back rampantly. 40 to 50 percent of Malaria death in Orissa includes children. In 20 degree centigrade mosquitoes breed in 26 days and in 25 degree it able to breed 13 days. In 40 degree one can imagine the breeding rate.
Depleting water caused the problem of washing and drinking of water. The outbreak of cholera in Raygada, kalahandi, and koraput in 2009 and 2010 kill 150 people (official figure) including many children due to the contaminated drinking water and in Orissa it is a regular occurrence.