Climate opinion across India

The new Climate Opinion Maps for India reveal how Indians’ extreme weather experiences, risk perceptions, and causal beliefs vary across 34 states and union territories and 634 districts.

A project of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and partners, these surveys find that Indians’ direct experience with extreme weather and their beliefs about climate change’s role in these events differ substantially across the country, as outlined in their Climate Note. This is in light of the fact that with over 1.4 billion people, India is the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions and one of the most climate-vulnerable nations. In 2024, India experienced extreme weather events on 322 days – almost 90% of the year.

The Climate Note outlines key takeaways. Majorities of Indians have experienced heat waves (71%), agricultural pests and diseases (59%), electricity power outages (59%), water pollution (53%), droughts and water shortages (52%), and severe air pollution (51%) in the past 12 months. But experience with extreme weather or related impacts varies across the country. A majority of Indians think global warming is affecting extreme weather events.

Climate change beliefs are consistent across India. When provided a short definition, 96% of Indians think global warming is happening, with no districts below 90%. Personal experience with extreme weather varies across the country. In many northern Indian states, such as Rajasthan, Delhi, and Haryana, more than 75% say they have experienced severe heat waves compared to just over half in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the south. Research has found that these areas in northwest India are particularly prone to heat waves and heat stress, the Note adds. Similarly, while only 35% of Indians nationwide have experienced a severe cyclone, 64% of people in Odisha have, which was hit hard by Cyclone Dana in October 2024. More than two-thirds of people in Odisha also have experienced droughts and water shortages. Odisha is particularly susceptible to extreme weather and experiences droughts almost every year. By contrast, in coastal states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and mountainous and forested states like Chandigarh and Punjab, fewer than 40% say they have experienced droughts and water shortages in the past year.

As explained on its website, public opinion on climate change is an important influence on the decision-making process but it can vary widely depending on where people live. These maps provide estimates of the Indian adult population’s climate change beliefs, experiences, risk perceptions, and policy preferences at state and district levels. This version of the India Climate Opinion Maps is based on data from 2022 through 2025. The surveys were implemented by CVoter and were translated into 12 different languages. Respondents came from 34 of India’s 36 states and Union territories and from 575 of 634 modelled districts. No respondents came from the Lakshadweep or Andaman and Nicobar Islands, so estimates are not provided for these Union territories on the maps. Sample weights for all respondents were calculated by CVoter to be nationally representative and to reflect the large diversity of the Indian population across gender, language, education, caste, age, and income dimensions.

The maps depict estimates of the percentage of Indians (age 18 and over) who hold particular attitudes, perceptions, and policy preferences on the problem of climate change. The estimates were generated from a statistical model that incorporates actual survey responses from a large dataset of >19,000 individuals that have been collected since 2022. The actual survey responses were combined with demographic data from the 2011 Census of India to estimate opinions based on information such as gender, age, caste, and urbanicity. Research also shows that personal experience is not the only factor that shapes public attribution of extreme weather events to global warming — other factors can sometimes play an important role.

As India develops economically and prepares for extreme weather, the Note adds that experts find that communicators must explain the cause-and-effect relationship between burning fossil fuels and dangerous weather. Mapping Indians’ beliefs about and experiences of climate change and extreme weather can support climate adaptation and sustainable development. And a better understanding of how public opinion in India differs across states and districts can help leaders prepare stronger state and district climate action plans.