Climate & Atmosphere

India is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change despite contributing only ~4% of cumulative global emissions. Extreme heat events, erratic monsoons, and glacial retreat in the Himalayas are accelerating. The country's 7,517 km coastline faces rising sea levels, while agricultural heartlands contend with increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.

The warming trend over India has been consistent since the 1990s. The average temperature has risen by about 0.7°C over the past century, with the most pronounced warming during the post-monsoon and winter seasons. The number of heatwave days has increased tenfold in some regions since the 1960s, placing unprecedented stress on public health infrastructure.

For Indian agriculture, which employs nearly half the workforce, even small temperature increases can reduce crop yields. Heat stress, changing rainfall patterns, and increased pest activity threaten food security across the subcontinent. The 2023-24 monsoon season saw the weakest June rainfall in five years, followed by record September downpours — a pattern consistent with climate model predictions for a warming world.