The world is currently in the Anthropocene era, a period marked by humanity's significant, often tumultuous alteration of the planet's climate and ecosystems. The devastating human and economic costs of this environmental shift are increasingly undeniable, particularly in densely populated, climate-vulnerable nations like India.

Nobel laureates in economics, William Nordhaus and Paul Romer (2018), have highlighted that climate change is the central driver behind the rise in natural disasters. India has felt this acutely: the country witnessed its warmest February since 2001 in 2025, and the human toll of natural disasters, such as those witnessed in Kerala's Wayanad and the desert regions of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, in 2024, has been staggering.

In its 2023 submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), India's third national communication formally acknowledged the full spectrum of climate change impacts it is experiencing, including intensified floods, crippling heat waves, and rapid glacier melting.

Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture in India 
The foundation of India's economy and livelihood rests on its agricultural sector, which supports nearly 70% of Indian households. This foundation is now under severe strain. Farmers are struggling with lower yields owing to frequent droughts, unprecedented heat waves, and erratic rainfall patterns.

One study ominously projects that the compounding effects of declining agricultural productivity and rising cereal prices could elevate India's national poverty rate by 3.5% by 2040, compared to a zero-warming scenario. This direct threat jeopardises the nation's ambitious development goal: "Viksit Bharat" (Developed India).

Empirical evidence confirms that the impact of "heat stress" has been most evident in key wheat-growing states across North India, leading to sharp declines in wheat productivity. Beyond economic metrics, scholars have demonstrated that climate change does not just worsen the country's poverty profile but actively undermines well-being, personal agency, and a sense of belongingness. Consequently, climate change poses a fundamental roadblock to achieving the nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Cultivating Resilience
Small farmers, who often lack access to advanced technology, financial resources, and insurance programmes, are particularly vulnerable. To address these vulnerabilities, India needs to adopt climate-resilient crop varieties, improve irrigation methods, and strengthen agricultural extension services in consultation with experts in our country and abroad. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research can play an essential role in addressing the challenges.

The Trade-off: Growth vs. Climate Action
The time is ripe to work out a trade-off between higher economic growth and climate change in light of the Nobel Laureate in Economics in 2019. Thus, the state must strengthen safety nets and social networks and enhance the adaptive capacity of the poor. Popularising crop varieties, farm technologies and practices, and farming systems that can adapt to diverse biophysical and climatic environments may enable the agricultural sector to become climate-smart and help mitigate the climate threats faced by the poor. Again, we have to popularise and, if necessary, encourage by giving subsidies from the national exchequer to promote the use of eco-friendly technology in industrial production and the adoption of strong redistributive policies.

Health Risks
The impact of climate change extends far beyond the farm, posing serious public health crises. Scholars have highlighted the health risks arising from the altered ecology of vector-borne diseases, including malaria, dengue, chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, kala-azar, and filariasis. Vulnerable populations—the elderly, children, urban residents, and the poor—are the most susceptible.

Exacerbating this is air quality degradation. One study investigating the effects of air pollution found that high pollutant levels in Delhi led to approximately a 20% increase in emergency department visits for respiratory diseases.

The Urban Exodus
Given the situation, the villagers who are pushed out and due to fewer job opportunities migrate to towns in search of a better life. But they are compelled to live in shanties. They are more vulnerable to health risks and disasters, and their children will remain malnourished. The asbestos-roofed huts, where temperatures might exceed 48 degrees, along with unhygienic living conditions, make their lives miserable.

Women workers are more vulnerable. In India, 82 per cent of women work in unorganised sectors where tin-roofed structures cause high temperatures. They also have to take care of their children, which makes things worse. Potable water is not always available in many water-scarce areas.

National Action Plan for Climate Change 
National Action Plan for Climate Change, 2008, promised further enhancement of ecological sustainability to be embedded in our development initiative. It calls for joint collaborative action by policymakers and scientists, drawn from the world's common pool. We have to quickly finalise the National Adaptation Plan in line with the Paris Agreement to prevent ecological deterioration.

Need for Enlisting the Support of the Civil Society 
In India, climate change issues are primarily determined by the government and are incorporated into the mainstream policy agenda in international negotiations. India has a vibrant civil society working in various fields of environment and development, with considerable emphasis on climate change-related issues.

The gravity of the crisis underscores the need to enlist their support and that of local government bodies, which will work together to mitigate the effects of climate change. The Ward Committees in urban areas and the Gram Sabhas in rural India, mandated by the Constitution, need to be sensitised and mobilised to undertake vigorous campaigns in their localities. This should form part of their training curricula and be incorporated into the appropriate legislation.

Climate Justice and Legal Protection
India needs a robust legal system to fight the pernicious effects of climate change. A strong legal framework will not only prevent practices such as 'greenwashing' but also channel environmental development to build a more sustainable and resilient society. Suitable legislative changes are required to ensure that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds are appropriately directed towards protecting the ecology.

Crucially, the concept of Climate Justice must be central. In a landmark 2014 ruling, India's apex court expanded the interpretation of the Right to Life (Article 21) and Right to Equality (Article 14) to explicitly include protection against the adverse impacts of climate change. This ruling has provided the issue with the spotlight it deserves. The demand for climate justice is a core element in ongoing social mobilisations—including the farmers' protests, Adivasi movements, Dalit movements, and women's movements.

To save the future of its environmentally vulnerable communities, India must reformulate its climate justice narrative, ensuring it directly addresses the deep-rooted caste-based inequalities that exacerbate climate vulnerability within the society.