Climate change is straining Asia’s water and power systems and putting millions at risk, forcing governments to spend heavily just to maintain basic services, according to two new reports.
Water-related disasters are rising even as investments to protect communities lag far behind need. Asian nations will require $4 trillion for water and sanitation between 2025 and 2040 — roughly $250 billion a year — the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Monday.
Power systems are also under mounting pressure. By 2050, extreme weather could cost publicly listed power companies in Asia-Pacific about $8.4 billion annually in physical damage and lost revenue, a one-third increase from today’s levels, according to research by the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change and the MSCI Institute.
These risks have come sharply into focus this year as late-season storms, relentless rains, and severe flooding battered the region. In Quy Nhon, central Vietnam, Typhoon Kalmaegi toppled power lines and inundated streets with chest-high water. Stranded residents sought electricity wherever they could. “I can’t go back because my home is underwater. I just want to see if my relatives are safe,” said Hai Duong, 29, as she charged her phone in a mall running on backup power.
Asia’s water systems need climate-proofing
According to the ADB report, 2.7 billion people — 60% of the Asia-Pacific population — can access enough water for most basic needs. Yet more than 4 billion remain exposed to unsafe water, degraded ecosystems, and intensifying climate hazards.
Progress since 2013 has largely come from dramatic improvements in rural water access, with about 800 million more rural residents gaining piped water. India accounted for much of this shift. But the region now faces what the ADB calls a “triple threat”: environmental degradation, inadequate investment, and accelerating climate change.
“It’s a tale of two realities,” said Vivek Raman, principal urban development specialist at the ADB and a lead author of the report.
Water ecosystems are deteriorating or stagnating in 30 of the 50 Asian countries studied, driven by unchecked development, pollution, and land conversion. Asia also accounts for 41% of global flooding, and its coastal megacities and Pacific islands face growing risks from storm surges, rising seas, and saltwater intrusion. Between 2013 and 2023, the region suffered 244 major floods, 104 droughts, and 101 severe storms — disasters that eroded development gains and caused widespread losses.
Governments currently provide only about 40% of the required water and sanitation funding, leaving an annual shortfall of more than $150 billion through 2040.
Asia’s rapid expansion makes this both a challenge and an opportunity, said Amit Prothi, director general of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. “The amount of infrastructure we’ll build in Asia in the next three decades will be as much as what was built in the last two centuries. So this is an opportunity to rethink and build in a new way,” he said.
The coalition estimates that $800 billion in infrastructure — roughly one-third of it in Asia — faces disaster exposure each year worldwide.
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