India was ranked seventh among the list of countries most affected by climate change in 2019. India emits about 3 gigatonnes (Gt) CO2eq of greenhouse gases each year; about two and a half tonnes per person, which is more than twice the greenhouse gasses relative to GDP than the world average. The country emits 7% of global emissions, despite having 17% of the world population. The climate change performance index of India ranks eighth among 63 countries which account for 92% of all GHG emissions in the year 2021.
Temperature rises on the Tibetan Plateau are causing Himalayan glaciers to retreat, threatening the flow rate of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yamuna and other major rivers. A 2007 World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report states that the Indus River may run dry for the same reason. Severe landslides and floods are projected to become increasingly common in such states as Assam. Heat waves' frequency and intensity are increasing in India because of climate change. Temperatures in India have risen by between 1901 and 2018.
According to some current projections, the number and severity of droughts in India will have markedly increased by the end of the present century.
Climate change disproportionately affects India's lower caste and indigenous Adivasi populations. Due to flooding and coastal erosion caused by sea level rise, citizens living along the coast are particularly vulnerable to displacement, while the urban poor are most likely to suffer from extreme heat-related diseases.
Greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions by India are the third largest in the world and the main source is coal. In 2019 China is estimated to have emitted 27% of world GhG, followed by the US with 11%, then India with 6.6%. India emitted 2.8 Gt of CO2eq in 2016 (2.5 including LULUCF).Government of India (2018) India Second Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 79% were , 14% methane and 5% nitrous oxide. India emits about 3 gigatonnes (Gt) CO2eq of greenhouse gases each year; about two tonnes per person, which is half the world average. the UNEP forecasts that by 2030 they will be between 3 and 4 tonnes.
According to data from the Climate Change Tracker, India has contributed 169,898.56 megatonnes of carbon dioxide since 1851, accounting for 4.62% of the historic total. India's per capita emissions are rated "low", at 1.85 tonnes per capita per year. However, this reflects the country's large population which dilutes the per capita footprint despite high overall emissions."India's Historic Contribution to Global Warming Since 1850." Climate Change Tracker, 31 Jul 2025, https://climatechangetracker.org/nations/greenhouse-gas-emissions/india/historical-impact. Furthermore, India's energy use per capita increased by 11% from 2014 to 2019."Brown to Green: G20 Transitions Towards a Net-Zero Emissions Economy." Climate Transparency, 2019.
In India in 2023, emissions increased by 190 million tonnes due to strong GDP growth and reduced hydroelectricity production following a weak monsoon, with its per capita emissions remaining significantly below the global average.
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore air pollution in India, would have health benefits worth 4 to 5 times the cost, which would be the most cost-effective in the world.
The Paris Agreement commitments included a reduction of this intensity by 33–35% by 2030.
The Indian national carbon trading scheme may be created in 2026.
Electricity generation As of September 2021 India generates 39.8% of its electricity from renewable energy sources and 60.2% of its electricity from fossil fuels of which 51% is generated from coal.
Coal-fired power stations As well as coal mining in India, the country also imports coal to burn in coal-fired power stations in India. New plants are unlikely to be built, old and dirty plants may be shut down and more coal may be burnt in the remaining plants.
Coal mining disproportionately affects tribal communities in India. As of 2016, tribal citizens made up one in six of the 87,000 people displaced by state-owned Coal India .Acharya, Namrata. "Towards Transformative Climate Justice: Reorienting Communication Paradigms in India." Round Table, vol. 113, no. 4, Aug. 2024, pp. 331–43. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2024.2382558.
Industry The industrial sector, including the production of cement, iron, and steel, is a major contributor to global emissions, accounting for about a quarter of the total. From 2000 to 2014, fuel consumption in this sector surged by 406%, reflecting its rapid expansion and escalating energy demand. By 2014, the industry was also responsible for 42% of total energy consumption, highlighting the significant environmental effects associated with industrial activities.
Industry-related emissions make up half of India's carbon emissions and are increasing. India, the world's second-largest steel producer, accounts for 7% of global crude steel production. With rising domestic demand, emissions from this sector could significantly increase. Implementing standards for low and near-zero emissions steel is crucial to mitigate this risk. These standards facilitate essential policies and mechanisms such as procurement, financing, carbon pricing, and emissions trading systems, which are key in supporting India's transition to net-zero emissions and reducing the environmental footprint of its industrial sector.
Agriculture Agricultural emissions increased 25% between 2005 and 2014, in part due to significant increases in the use of artificial fertilisers and the burning of crops. The largest source of agricultural emissions in India is due to enteric fermentation, followed by the use of artificial fertilisers, manure, and rice cultivation.
Waste Waste emitted 78 Mt of CO2eq in 2014.
Emissions disparities While India as a whole is a major greenhouse gas producer, there are disparities in per capita emissions. A citizen in the top 1% produces four-and-a-half times more carbon dioxide than a citizen in the poorest 38% of the population.
Effects on the natural environment
Temperature and weather changes
Temperatures in India have risen by between 1901 and 2018, thereby changing the climate in India.
In May 2022 a severe heatwave was recorded in Pakistan and India. The temperature reached 51 °C. Climate change makes such heatwaves 100 times more likely. Without climate change, heatwaves more severe than those which occurred in 2010 are expected to arrive 1 time in 312 years. Now they are expected to occur every 3 years.
A 2018 study projects droughts to increase in Northern and North-western India in the near future. Around the end of the century, most parts of India will likely face more and more severe droughts.
Severe landslides and floods are projected to become increasingly common in such states as Assam.
Sea level rise
Meghalaya and other northeastern states are concerned that rising sea levels will submerge much of Bangladesh and spawn a refugee crisis.
Between 1990 and 2016, India lost of land to coastal erosion. As a result of flooding, 3.6 million Indians were displaced between 2008 and 2018, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
Thousands of people have been displaced by ongoing sea level rises that have submerged low-lying islands in the Sundarbans.
Civil engineer Rabin Chakrabortty and their peers conducted a 2025 study that found that the cities of Mumbai and Kolkata face the highest flood risks, and a 2023 study suggested that several million Indians will face threats from flooded waters due to rising sea levels by 2050.
Water resources
Temperature rises on the Tibetan Plateau are causing Himalayan glaciers to retreat, threatening the flow rate of the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Yamuna, and other major rivers; the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of farmers depend on these rivers. A 2007 World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report states that the Indus River may run dry for the same reason.
Meghalaya, meaning 'Abode of the Clouds' in Hindi & Sanskrit alike—is home to the towns of Cherrapunji and Mawsynram, which are credited with being the wettest places in the world due to their high rainfall. But scientists state that global climate change is causing these areas to experience an increasingly sparse and erratic rainfall pattern and a lengthened dry season, affecting the livelihoods of thousands of villagers who cultivate paddy and maize. Meghalaya faced water crises in 2023 and 2025.
Ecosystems Ecological disasters, such as a 1998 coral bleaching event that killed off more than 70% of corals in the reef ecosystems off Lakshadweep and the Andamans and was brought on by elevated ocean temperatures tied to global warming, are also projected to become increasingly common.Aggarwal, D., Lal, M. Vulnerability of the Indian Coastline to Sea Level Rise (SURVAS Flood Hazard Research Centre)
Climate justice Environmental geographer Mehebub Sahana found that climate change has the potential to exacerbate inequalities due to how it disproportionately affects impoverished individuals and nations, as well as minorities and marginalised groups.
Some scholars argue that the climate change crisis is a social justice issue in India, first because India has historically contributed less greenhouse gas emissions in comparison to other countries—such as the United States—and secondly due to how structural inequalities result in certain Indian populations experiencing the effects of climate change disproportionately.
For example, according to environmental studies scholar Prakash Kashwan:
"Clearly, the worst impacts of air pollution and the climate crisis are being denied, ignored, and normalised, because these burdens fall on the urban poor, women, Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, and other marginalised people with little political voice. Accordingly, India is an archetypal site for the manifestation of the myriad injustices associated with the climate crisis."Kashwan, Prakash. Climate Justice in India. Cambridge University Press, 2022.
History India's current social inequalities have a historical basis, which provides insight into why certain groups experience the effects of climate change disproportionately.
According to some scholars, such as psychologist Vina Goghari and sociologist Jan Breman, India's history of colonialism deepened India's feudal tendencies, in turn institutionalising the social and political hierarchies inherent in India's caste system. For instance, when Britain colonised India in the 18th century, the colonisers perceived that Indian society was organised by a four-fold caste system and a class of "untouchable" castes outside the main four. Embedded in this theory was that upper-castes consisted of lighter-skinned, more evolved citizens who descended from a superior civilisation, while the lower-castes consisted of darker-skinned, less-evolved, indigenous citizens. The British solidified this hierarchy by legalising the classification of the "untouchable castes". For example, the British dug separate wells, set up special schools, and started reservation policies for the lower castes.Goghari, Vina M, and Mavis Kusi. "An introduction to the basic elements of the caste system of India." Frontiers in psychology vol. 14 1210577. 21 Dec. 2023, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1210577