The National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) in its latest 2022 publication of the Assessment of Shoreline Changes analysed over 6,907 kms of coastline of the mainland between 1990 and 2018. According to the data, between 1990 and 2018, 33.6% of the country’s coastline was under varying degrees of erosion, 26.9% was accreting and the remaining 39.5% was in a stable state. Greater Coastal Erosion was observed on the East Coast of India. India’s extensive coastline, spanning about 7,500 kilometres, is a treasure trove of biodiversity and a hub of economic activity. However, it grapples with the pressing challenge of coastal erosion. Not just in India, coastal erosion is receiving increasing global attention due to its significant impact on coastal communities, economies, and ecosystems. In this story, we look at what the phenomenon is, its extent in India, and the mitigation measures taken. Coastal erosion is the gradual wearing away or removal of land, sediment, or rock along coastlines. It is a natural phenomenon caused by waves, currents, tides, and weather conditions over a period of time. However climate change and anthropogenic or human activities have accelerated erosion rates in many coastal areas. Human activities such as infrastructure development near coastlines, extensive sand extraction for construction, mining, and alteration of natural coastline disrupt the natural flow of sediment, compromising the stability of coastlines and accelerating the process of erosion. Its rate and extent vary from place to place. Billions of people are vulnerable to coastal erosion globally The impact of coastal erosion extends beyond mere land loss. It has significant impacts on ecosystems, economies, communities, and infrastructure. To illustrate, in the United States, the average annual loss in coastal property is about USD 500 million. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), about 37% of the world’s population lives within 100 km of the coast, at a population density twice the global average which indicates how billions are vulnerable to the phenomenon and places stress on the need for immediate measures to address the same. India’s coastline is spread across 9 states and 2 Union Territories on the mainland and two Islands. The population in the 66 coastal districts was 171 million, accounting for nearly 14% of the total population of India, according to the 2011 Census. The National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) is an attached office of the Ministry of Earth Sciences that has been monitoring the shoreline changes in mainland India since 1990 using remote sensing data, GIS mapping techniques, and field surveys. In its latest 2022 publication, National Assessment of Shoreline Changes along Indian Coast, 2022 Volumes 1&2, over 6,907 kms of coastline of the mainland has been analysed for the period from 1990 to 2018. The results are classified into three categories- erosion, stable and accretion. The shoreline change rates have been classified into seven classes as given in the following table. The data on the change in shoreline as per the 2022 report and the 2018 report (covering the period from 1990 to 2016) from Dataful has been used in this story. According to the data, between 1990 and 2018, 33.6% of the country’s coastline was under varying degrees of erosion, 26.9% was accreting and the remaining 39.5% was in a stable state. Out of the 6,907 kms of the coast in the mainland, about 2,318 km was under erosion and 1,855 km faced accretion. Compared to the previous report covering the period from 1990 to 2016, the share of shoreline facing accretion has declined from 29% while that under erosion has increased marginally by 0.6%. More than half of the coastline in West Bengal and Puducherry underwent erosion between 1990 & 2018 State-wise data reveals that more than 60% of the coastline of West Bengal faced erosion in the 28-year period. This was followed by Puducherry with 56.2%. While more than half of the coastline in West Bengal and Puducherry faced erosion, the share was more than 40% in Kerala and Tamil Nadu with 46.4% and 42.7%, respectively. 34.6% of the coastline in Daman & Diu, 28.7% in Andhra Pradesh, 27.6% in Gujarat, 25.6% in Odisha, 25.5% in Maharashtra, 23.7% and 19.2% in Goa had undergone erosion between 1990 and 2018. On the other hand, nearly 51% of the coastline in Odisha expanded or underwent accretion followed by Andhra Pradesh with 49.6%. The share of coastline that underwent accretion in descending order is Karnataka (26.2%), West Bengal (25.2%), Tamil Nadu (23.8%), Kerala (22.8%), Gujarat (19.4%), Goa (13.7%), Daman & Diu (11.7%), Puducherry (10.6%) and Maharashtra (10%).