The "catastrophic" flooding in Kerala, which has killed more than 230 people and displaced another 13 lakh, should act as a wake-up call to world leaders and the Indian government on the deadly impact of climate change, ActionAid International said today.
It said the deadly floods must also be a signal to leaders to commit the resources needed on a global scale to cope with extreme climate events.
ActionAid is working on the ground to help Kerala's survivors. It said it is working to bring essential items and shelter materials to thousands of the most vulnerable families affected, aiming to reach 45,000 people in areas most impacted within the next month.
It is also working with communities to develop programmes that will support their full recovery in the longer term.
The NGO said the hundreds of dead people and the one million forced into relief camps due to flooding are the latest innocent victims of world leaders' failure to stop climate change from spiralling out of control.
"The catastrophic flooding in Kerala...should act as a wake-up call to world leaders on the deadly impact of climate change. Higher than average rain and shifting weather patterns have caused the worst monsoon season in the region since 1924," it said in a statement.
Ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bangkok next month, the NGO urge governments to see the flooding in Kerala "as evidence of a crisis that is already happening."