By Arpita Priyadarshini Mishra
INTRODUCTION:-
For generations, the weather in India was a matter of routine conversation discussed casually in tea stalls, farming households, school assemblies, and railway platforms. Summers were expected to be hot, monsoons heavy, and winters brief. Today, that familiarity has disappeared. Weather is no longer a background condition of life; it has become a daily crisis shaping health, livelihoods, migration, education, and survival itself.
Across India, heatwaves scorch cities earlier each year, floods arrive without warning, cyclones intensify along coastlines, and erratic rainfall unsettles both urban and rural lives. Climate change, once seen as a distant or global issue, has entered the intimate spaces of ordinary Indians kitchens without water, classrooms without fans, hospitals overflowing during heat spells, and homes repeatedly rebuilt after floods.
This is not merely an environmental problem. It is a social, economic, and constitutional challenge, forcing India to confront questions of equity, preparedness, and justice in an age of climate uncertainty.
Heatwaves: The Slow Violence of Extreme Heat –
In May 2024, parts of Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh recorded temperatures touching 48–50°C, according to the India Meteorological Department. But beyond statistics lies a quieter tragedy.
In a resettlement colony on the outskirts of Delhi, Sunita Devi, a domestic worker, describes how her days have changed. “By noon, the room feels like a furnace. There is no fan during power cuts, no water sometimes. My children fall sick often,” she says. For millions like her, heat is not discomfort it is exhaustion, dehydration, lost wages, and mounting medical bills.
Doctors across government hospitals report spikes in heatstroke, kidney stress, and cardiac emergencies during prolonged heatwaves. Construction workers, street vendors, sanitation staff, and delivery workers who keep cities running face the worst exposure.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has repeatedly flagged heatwaves as a human rights issue, stressing the state’s duty to protect life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Yet, access to cooling, water, and safe working conditions remains deeply unequal.
Floods: When Water Destroys Instead of Sustains –
While some regions burn, others drown.
In Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, and Uttarakhand, floods have become more frequent and destructive. What were once seasonal inundations have turned into annual disasters, displacing families repeatedly.
In a flood-prone village in Bihar’s Darbhanga district, farmer Ramesh Yadav recounts losing his crops three times in five years. “Earlier floods came slowly. Now water rises overnight. There is no time to save anything,” he says.
Urban India is no safer. Cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Gurugram flood after short spells of rain due to poor drainage, unchecked construction, and vanishing wetlands. The poor living in low-lying settlements lose homes and possessions, while wealthier areas recover faster revealing how climate risk mirrors social inequality.
According to reports in The Hindu and Down To Earth, climate-induced floods now contribute significantly to internal displacement, forcing families to migrate temporarily or permanently in search of work and safety.
Health Systems Under Climate Stress –
Climate change is quietly overwhelming India’s public health system.
Heatwaves intensify respiratory illnesses, dehydration, and maternal health risks. Floods bring outbreaks of dengue, malaria, leptospirosis, and water-borne diseases. Children and the elderly remain most vulnerable.
In Odisha’s coastal districts, repeated cyclones have left mental scars. Health workers report rising cases of anxiety, depression, and trauma, especially among women who bear the burden of rebuilding households after every disaster.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that climate change could push millions into health insecurity, especially in countries like India where healthcare access is uneven. Yet climate adaptation rarely features centrally in health policy planning.
Livelihoods on the Brink: From Farms to Informal Work –
Climate instability directly affects how Indians earn a living.
Farmers face unpredictable rainfall, crop failure, and rising input costs. Fisherfolk encounter rough seas and declining fish stocks. Informal workers lose days of work due to heat, rain, or illness without social security.
In Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, repeated droughts followed by sudden heavy rains have destabilized cotton farming. Many farmers now rely on loans just to survive the season, deepening cycles of debt and distress.
As Indian Express reports highlight, climate change has intensified rural-to-urban migration, with climate migrants swelling city slums already vulnerable to floods and heat.
Education Interrupted: Children Growing Up in Crisis –
Schools across India are increasingly affected by climate extremes. Heatwaves force early closures; floods damage buildings and disrupt academic calendars.
In government schools without proper ventilation, classrooms become unbearable during summer months. Students struggle to concentrate, while teachers report declining attendance.
For children from marginalized communities, climate disruptions mean learning loss, malnutrition, and early dropout, reinforcing cycles of poverty.
Climate change, thus, quietly threatens Article 21A — the Right to Education, making environmental stability a prerequisite for learning itself.
Climate Change and Inequality: Unequal Burdens –
Climate change does not affect all Indians equally.
Those with air-conditioned homes, insurance, savings, and mobility can adapt. Those without bear the heaviest cost daily wage workers, slum dwellers, small farmers, women, children, Dalits, Adivasis, and coastal communities.
Environmental justice experts argue that climate change magnifies existing inequalities, turning vulnerability into destiny unless corrective policy action is taken.
India’s Constitution, through Directive Principles of State Policy (Articles 39, 47, and 48A), mandates the state to ensure welfare, public health, and environmental protection. Climate resilience, therefore, is not charity - it is a constitutional obligation.
Signs of Hope: Local Adaptation and Community Action –
Amid the crisis, stories of resilience emerge.
Cities like Ahmedabad have pioneered Heat Action Plans, reducing heat-related deaths through early warnings and public awareness. In Odisha, improved cyclone preparedness has saved thousands of lives. Community-led water conservation in Rajasthan has revived groundwater levels.
Urban citizens’ groups are restoring lakes, planting urban forests, and demanding climate-sensitive planning. Students, women’s collectives, and farmers are experimenting with adaptation at the grassroots.
These efforts prove that local action matters, even as national and global policies evolve.
The Road Ahead: From Reaction to Preparedness –
India stands at a crossroads. Climate change is no longer a future threat — it is a lived reality reshaping everyday life.
What is needed now is:
Climate-sensitive urban planning
Stronger public health adaptation
Protection for climate-vulnerable workers
Investment in early warning systems
Recognition of climate justice as social justice
Most importantly, climate policy must center people, not just emissions.
Conclusion: Listening to the Weather, Protecting the People –
When weather becomes a crisis, silence is no longer an option. The heat in our homes, the floods in our streets, and the anxiety in our lives are messages warning us that the balance between people and nature is breaking.
India’s strength has always lain in its communities, resilience, and democratic values. Addressing climate change in everyday life demands not only technology and policy, but empathy, equity, and constitutional commitment.
The weather has changed. Now, our response must change too.
References :-
India Meteorological Department (IMD) Reports
The Hindu – Climate & Environment Reports
The Indian Express – Explained & Ground Reports
Down To Earth Magazine – Climate Impact Studies
World Health Organization (WHO) – Climate & Health
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Advisories
IPCC Assessment Reports
