Climate Change in the Indian Mind, 2022

A 2022 report by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and CVoter based on a survey of 4,619 Indian adults. It finds that while general awareness of the term 'global warming' remains low, a large majority of Indians believe it is happening, is human-caused, and is personally important. There is strong public support for renewable energy, the Paris Climate Agreement, and government action, alongside high reported vulnerability to extreme weather events like droughts and floods.

• General awareness of the term 'global warming' is low, with 54% of Indians stating they know "just a little" or have never heard of it, and only 9% saying they know "a lot."
• Despite low initial awareness, 84% of respondents believe global warming is occurring after receiving a short definition, representing a 15 percentage point increase since 2011. A majority (57%) attribute it to human activities.
• Public concern is high, with 81% of Indians worried about global warming. 49% believe people in India are already being harmed by it, which is 29 percentage points higher than in 2011.
• There is strong support for climate and energy policies: 55% believe India should reduce emissions immediately without waiting for other countries, 73% favor participation in the Paris Climate Agreement, and 59% support increasing the use of renewable energy.
• Indians perceive significant risks from extreme weather, with over half expecting more disease epidemics (59%), severe heat waves (54%), severe cyclones (52%), and droughts and water shortages (50%).
• Local observations indicate that 56% of people have noticed more frequent hot days in their area, and 76% have noticed changes in average annual rainfall over the last 10 years.
• Economic and social vulnerability is high; 74% of households would take several months or more to recover from a severe drought, and 65% report having few or no friends or relatives to count on for help in trouble.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2022). Climate Change in the Indian Mind, 2022. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2022/10/climate-change-indian-mind-2022-d.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Climate Change in the Indian Mind, 2022. 2022. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2022/10/climate-change-indian-mind-2022-d.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Climate Change in the Indian Mind, 2022 |date=2022 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2022/10/climate-change-indian-mind-2022-d.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2022climate, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Climate Change in the Indian Mind, 2022}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2022}, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2022/10/climate-change-indian-mind-2022-d.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }