Located in a temperate latitude with freshwater resources and low hurricane risk, Chicago was ranked as the most resilient city in the list. (photo credit: wikimedia commons)Climate Disaster Resilience: Most and least resilient cities in the world based on climate disaster preparedness: The New York Times recently reported an analysis by AlphaGeo on how adaptable cities around the world are to cope with climate risks. While Chicago emerged as the world’s most climate-resilient city, Ahmedabad ranked last.AlphaGeo’s Climate Risk & Resilience Index analysed 72 cities around the world. The report distinguishes raw physical exposure from resilience-adjusted risk, which the company describes as “adaptation delta”, to identify cities that are protected and those facing a gap between their risk profile and adaptive capacity.Parag Khanna, AlphaGeo’s founder and chief executive, told The New York Times that measuring resilience is as important as talking about it. The report’s score for each city was based on six physical climate risk hazard layers, including inland and coastal flooding, heat stress, drought, wildfires, and hurricane winds.Also Read | Top 10 Quietest Islands in the World 2026: How India’s Havelock Island made the listMost resilient citiesAccording to the report, resilience among the world’s largest cities is driven by two independent factors: low baseline physical exposure (determined by geographical and climate zone) and high adaptation investment (through governance, wealth and policy). The cities topping the ranking benefit from both.Chicago emerged as the most resilient city. Located in a temperate latitude with freshwater resources and low hurricane risk, the city has sustained adaptation efforts. These include long-term investments in robust infrastructure like the Deep Tunnel Project, designed to reduce flooding and water pollution.Addis Ababa, Melbourne and Barcelona ranked second, third and fourth, respectively. Ankara, Buenos Aires, and Paris ranked fifth, sixth and seventh, followed by Istanbul, Bogota, and Nairobi.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Best cities for startups in India: Bengaluru on top, Delhi NCR secondLeast resilient citiesCities facing the highest climate risks were predominantly in South Asia, which accounted for six such cities. All of them face major heat exposure. Given the scale of their physical risks, the adaptation rates remain relatively low.Ahmedabad was ranked as the least resilient city. Hyderabad (Pakistan), Multan (Pakistan) and Dhaka were ranked second, third, and fourth, respectively. Lahore, Kolkata and Faisalabad (Pakistan) were ranked fifth, sixth and seventh on the list. Karachi and Chittagong (Bangladesh) were eighth and ninth, while Taipei rounded out the list.Heavy rainfall makes South Asian cities vulnerable. Ahmedabad was identified as facing the highest risk in the region. Recent deadly floods and mudslides in Nepal and Tibet and the subsequent devastation show the impact extreme weather events can have.Story continues below this adMost and least resilient cities in the world based on climate disaster preparedness:RankMost Resilient CitiesLeast Resilient Cities1Chicago, USAAhmedabad, India2Addis Ababa, EthiopiaHyderabad, Pakistan3Melbourne, AustraliaMultan, Pakistan4Barcelona, SpainDhaka, Bangladesh5Ankara, TurkeyLahore, Pakistan6Bueno Aires, ArgentinaKolkata, India7Paris, FranceFaisalabad, Pakistan8Istanbul,TurkiyeKarachi, Pakistan9Bogota, ColombiaChittagong, Bangladesh10Nairobi, KenyaTaipei, TaiwanSource: nytimes.com