Mental Images of Global Warming in India

A survey of 2,164 adults in India reveals that a majority (58%) are unfamiliar with the term "global warming." Among those who are familiar, the most common associations are heat, water, and pollution. Familiarity and specific associations vary significantly by education, income, and urbanicity, with higher education and urban residence correlating with greater awareness and specific associations like heat.

• A majority of the Indian public is unfamiliar with the term "global warming," with 58% of 2,164 respondents stating they did not know or could not provide a specific word or phrase when asked for their first association with the term.
• Among the minority of respondents familiar with the term, the most frequent associations are heat (10%), water (8%), and pollution (8%), followed by climate change (6%) and alarm regarding catastrophic impacts (6%).
• Education is the most significant demographic predictor of familiarity with global warming; 85% of those with education below primary level did not know the term, compared to 25% of those with a postgraduate degree or above.
• Socioeconomic and geographic factors influence awareness: 69% of those in the lowest income bracket (< Rs 3,000 average monthly family income) and 65% of rural residents reported not knowing the term, whereas only 34% of the highest income bracket (> Rs 1,00,000) and 48% of urban residents gave the same response.
• Demographic differences exist in specific associations: women (12%) and urban residents (13%) are more likely to associate global warming with heat than men (9%) and rural residents (9%), while Scheduled Caste respondents (11%) are more likely to mention water than non-SC respondents (8%).

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2026). Mental Images of Global Warming in India. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/mental-images-india/

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Mental Images of Global Warming in India. 2026. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/mental-images-india/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Mental Images of Global Warming in India |date=7 July 2026 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/mental-images-india/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2026mental, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Mental Images of Global Warming in India}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2026}, month = jul, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/mental-images-india/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }