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News18
2 days ago
- Science
- News18
90% of Indians surveyed report being impacted by climate change: Survey
New Delhi, Aug 14 (PTI) Nearly 90 per cent of Indians surveyed say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming and an overwhelming majority are worried about it, according to a new survey. The nationally representative survey of 2,164 adults, conducted from March 19 to April 16 this year by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and CVoter, found that 96 per cent of respondents believe global warming is happening after being given a short definition of the term. However, only 17 per cent say they know 'a lot" about it, while 17 per cent know 'just a little" and 27 per cent have never heard of it. Fifty-eight per cent think global warming is caused mostly by human activities, while 34 per cent say it is mostly due to natural changes in the environment. Asked about specific causes, 82 per cent say vehicles using petrol or diesel cause global warming 'a lot" or 'some" and 61 per cent say the same about coal or propane power plants. Only 26 per cent think raising animals for food causes global warming. Meanwhile, 84 per cent say plastic pollution causes global warming, even though it is not a major source of greenhouse gases, and 37 per cent attribute it to 'God's will". Seventy-nine per cent think global warming affects the weather in their local area and 83 per cent think it affects the monsoon. Ninety per cent are worried about global warming, including 58 per cent who are 'very worried". Large majorities say it will harm future generations (89 per cent), people in India (88 per cent), plant and animal species (84 per cent), people in their own community (81 per cent) and themselves or their families (81 per cent). Sixty-six per cent think people in India are already being harmed. Many expect 'many more" severe heat waves (76 per cent), extinctions of species (69 per cent), droughts and water shortages (69 per cent), agricultural pests and diseases (67 per cent), severe cyclones (66 per cent), days with severe air pollution (66 per cent), famines and food shortages (59 per cent) and severe floods (52 per cent). Ninety-four per cent say the issue is personally important to them. Seventy-eight per cent say the government should do more to address global warming and 86 per cent support India's pledge to reduce carbon pollution to nearly zero by 2070. Eighty-seven per cent say switching from coal to wind and solar will reduce air pollution and 85 per cent say it will reduce global warming, though about half believe it will cause electricity outages (56 per cent), increase unemployment (55 per cent) or raise electricity prices (54 per cent). Sixty-five per cent say leaving most of India's coal in the ground is the best pathway to a healthy, safe and prosperous future, and 84 per cent support banning new coal power plants, closing existing ones and replacing them with solar and wind energy. Public backing is high for specific measures, including a national programme to train people for renewable energy jobs (94 per cent), a programme to teach all Indians about global warming (93 per cent), funding women's groups and Indigenous communities to protect the environment (89 per cent), preserving or expanding forests even at the cost of less land for agriculture or housing (79 per cent) and requiring new buildings to waste less water and energy even if this increases costs (76 per cent). Eighty-three per cent say they follow environmental issues in the news and 81 per cent discuss them with family and friends but only 38 per cent hear about global warming in the media at least once a week. Sixteen per cent say they took part in demonstrations in the past year to demand climate action and 73 per cent say they would be willing to join such demonstrations if asked by someone they like or respect, including 58 per cent who 'definitely would". On vulnerability, 63 per cent say they usually receive warnings before extreme weather events, with 53 per cent citing television and 51 per cent family, friends or neighbours as sources. However, 36 per cent say they do not get any warnings. Seventy-four per cent say it would take their household several months or more to recover from a severe drought and 64 per cent say the same about a severe flood. Thirty per cent say they have already moved or considered moving because of weather-related disasters. Only 16 per cent have an air conditioner at home and 11 per cent have solar panels. Thirty-five per cent say they went without enough clean drinking water for at least one day in the past year. More than half say their income does not cover their needs, with 27 per cent having 'some difficulties" and 33 per cent 'great difficulties". Forty-three per cent say they have no friends or relatives they could count on for help if they were in trouble. The findings are part of the 'Climate Change in the Indian Mind" series, which has been tracking public opinion since 2011, along with a separate survey on climate impacts and attribution conducted from December 2024 to February 2025. PTI GVS SKY SKY (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: August 14, 2025, 22:45 IST News agency-feeds 90% of Indians surveyed report being impacted by climate change: Survey Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. 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India Today
02-06-2025
- Health
- India Today
Climate change hits home: One-third of Indians worry about food shortage
Climate change and global warming are no longer issues that only engage elite environmental activists in developed countries. They are impacting the lives and livelihoods of ordinary people worldwide. This was revealed by a survey conducted in India by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and CVoter. Its most quoted result was related to heat waves: 71 per cent of those surveyed said they had experienced extreme heat waves in the past year. In 2024, India will experience its hottest year since 1901, with temperatures rising by 0.65 degrees Celsius above the long-term it's another result that's more worrisome: 38 per cent of Indians personally experienced famine or food shortages in the past year, quite alarming for a country that has largely eliminated extreme poverty. According to the World Bank, India had reduced extreme poverty (measured at an income of $2.15 a day) to just 3.4 per cent by the end of 2023. Yet, the Yale-CVoter study indicates that almost four in 10 Indians experienced or feared food shortages in insecurityAnalysts have wondered why the current government persisted with the free food aid program for 800 million Indians even after the end of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2022. This new survey indicates that there is still serious food insecurity in India, particularly among those who have recently climbed out of extreme poverty. Three out of four Indians were very or moderately worried about famines and food shortages, holding global warming Many Indians reported experiencing other climate change-related impacts. For example, 60 per cent of Indians experienced agricultural pests and diseases. This, too, is directly related to food security. Additionally, a majority experienced frequent power outages (59 per cent), water pollution (53 per cent), droughts and water shortages (52 per cent), or severe air pollution (52 per cent).Multiple studies have found that Indian cities have some of the worst air pollution in the world. As per scientific data on PM2.5 pollution, 13 of the 20 most-polluted affected in the world are in India. During the winter of 2024, many parts of Delhi reported an air quality index of more than 1,000, which is a health eager to do their partOlder surveys conducted by Yale and CVoter have found that Indians want and expect robust policy responses from both government and civil society. Most people in India (86 per cent) support the Indian government's 2070 Net Zero goal, according to the 2023 Yale-CVoter survey ( ). In 2022, a majority of Indians (55 per cent) said that India should reduce its emissions immediately, without waiting for other countries — an increase of 19 percentage points compared to a 2011 survey. In addition, two-thirds of Indians (64 per cent) said the government needed to do more to address global 93 per cent of Indians are willing to make big changes in their daily life in order to protect the environment, according to the 2023 survey. This can be seen in real life in India. The ban on firecrackers in some states, the voluntary movement to observe eco-friendly idol immersions and Holi, the gradual move away from plastics, and many other environmentally-friendly behaviours are testament to that. Proactive government policies and decisions at the central and state levels are nudging citizens towards becoming more are also rapidly embracing electric vehicles despite logistical bottlenecks like battery charging delays. Various studies by the Indian Energy Storage Alliance project that sales of e-vehicles in India will grow 49 per cent a year and reach annual sales of 17 million units by 2030. Even if that is an overestimate, Indians are driving of Indians (66 per cent) support requiring new automobiles to be more fuel-efficient, even if it increases the costs of cars and bus fares. An even larger majority of Indians (77 per cent) want buildings to use and waste less energy and water, even if they cost more. And, three in four Indians (73 per cent) support India's participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate a significant proportion (32 per cent) of people in India have never heard of global warming. These findings highlight the critical need to raise public awareness about climate change and local climate impacts and reinforce the urgency of both reducing carbon pollution and preparing for future extreme change and Indian society are both highly complex, and no single study can do justice to their full richness and diversity. Nonetheless, this study takes an in-depth and rigorous look at some of the key dimensions of these issues in India. This research is intended to contribute to both scientific and public understanding and dialogue about these issues and provide useful information for the Indian climate change nationally representative study surveyed 10,751 adults in India between December 5, 2024, and February 18, 2025. It was conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and CVoter. Respondents were contacted by mobile telephone using predictive dialling technology and computer-assisted telephone survey was translated into 12 languages (Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Odiya, Bangla, Asamiya, and English), and respondents received the survey in one of those languages based on their geographic location in India. National Census-based demographic parameters were used to create sampling targets for gender, education, and socio-economic results were also weighed after completion of the data collection to adjust the final sample to match national demographic parameters on gender, age, education, income, religion, and urbanicity.(Anthony Leiserowitz is the Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Emily Richards is Program Manager, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Jagadish Thaker is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland and Yashwant Deshmukh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of CVoter Foundation)(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the authors)Must Watch
