‘Climate change’ is a global problem. How India will be affected by climate change ? How Himalayan and coastal states of India will be affected by climate change ?
Approach · directive: “how will India be affected”
What it asks · Describe the national impacts of climate change on India and then the specific risks to the Himalayan and coastal states.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Explain how India as a whole will be affected by climate change
- Explain how the Himalayan states will be affected
- Explain how the coastal states will be affected
Open with · India's average temperature rose about 0.7°C over 1901-2018 and the North Indian Ocean rose 3.3 mm a year during 1993-2017 (MoES assessment, 2020); a monsoon-fed economy, a 7,500 km coast and a glaciated Himalaya turn these national numbers into local emergencies.
Cover
- National: erratic monsoon, heat waves and extreme rain reduce crop yields and raise water stress, hitting farmers and food security.
- National: health burdens from heat and disease, damage to infrastructure, biodiversity loss and economic cost from disasters.
- Himalaya: glacier retreat first swells and then reduces river flow, affecting the Ganga-Brahmaputra basins and hydropower.
- Himalaya: glacial lake floods, landslides, cloudbursts and forest fires threaten people, roads and tourism; apple and other horticulture zones shift uphill.
- Coast: sea-level rise, coastal erosion and salinity ingress harm delta areas such as the Sundarbans and low-lying farmland.
- Coast: stronger cyclones and storm surges endanger Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and coastal cities; fisheries and mangroves decline.
- Response: the National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008), State action plans, early warning, climate-smart farming and India's 2015 pledge under the Paris Agreement.
Close with · Mitigation decides how much warming the world gets and adaptation how many Indians it hurts; pursuing both, from the updated NDC under the Paris Agreement to district action plans, keeps the Himalaya and the coast habitable.
Add value (verified)
- India's INDC (October 2015): reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from the 2005 level, and reach about 40 per cent non-fossil installed power capacity by 2030.India's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution: Working Towards Climate Justice — UNFCCC (submitted 2 October 2015) ↗“To reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 percent by 2030 from 2005 level”
- MoES, Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region (2020): surface air temperature over India rose by about 0.7°C during 1901-2018.PIB: Assessment of Climate Change over Indian Region (Ministry of Earth Sciences, 2021 Parliament reply) ↗“the report documents the surface air temperature over India has risen by about 0.7 °C during 1901–2018 which is accompanied with an increase in atmospheric moisture content.”
- The same MoES report: sea-level rise in the North Indian Ocean at 3.3 mm per year over 1993-2017; droughts over India increased significantly during 1951-2015.PIB: Impact of Climate Change upon the Indian subcontinent (Ministry of Earth Sciences, 2023 Parliament reply) ↗“Sea-level rise in the North Indian Ocean occurred at a rate of 3.3 mm per year in the last two and half decades (1993-2017).”
- India's updated NDC (Cabinet approval, 3 August 2022): reduce emissions intensity of GDP by 45% by 2030 from 2005 and reach about 50% cumulative installed power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.PIB: Cabinet approves India's Updated Nationally Determined Contribution (3 August 2022) ↗“India now stands committed to reduce Emissions Intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030, from 2005 level and achieve about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-base”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2017, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 380words · Minimalist IAS
India's average temperature has risen by about 0.7°C over 1901-2018, and the North Indian Ocean rose 3.3 mm a year during 1993-2017 (MoES assessment, 2020). A monsoon-fed economy, a 7,500 km coast and a glaciated Himalaya make these national numbers local emergencies.
How India as a whole will be affected
- Monsoon and farming: erratic rain in heavier bursts, floods and droughts in one year; heat at grain filling hurts wheat and rain-fed kharif suffers.
- Water and health: stressed rivers and aquifers sharpen conflict; heat waves, malaria and dengue spread; outdoor workers lose productivity.
- Economy and ecology: damaged infrastructure, higher cooling demand, coral bleaching; the poor can adapt least.
How Himalayan states will be affected
- Glaciers and rivers: retreat first swells and then shrinks Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra flows, disturbing irrigation and hydropower.
- Cascading hazards: glacial lake outburst floods, cloudbursts and landslides, as at Kedarnath (2013); drier spells raise forest-fire risk, as in Uttarakhand (2016).
- Livelihoods: Himachal's apple belt shifts uphill, snow tourism turns uncertain, fragile roads are cut.
How coastal states will be affected
- Sea-level rise: erosion, submergence in the Sundarbans and Lakshadweep, saline intrusion into the Ganga, Mahanadi, Krishna-Godavari and Cauvery deltas.
- Cyclones and surges: stronger storms, as Phailin (2013) and Hudhud (2014), threaten Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat; urban floods as in Chennai (2015).
- Fisheries: warming shifts fish stocks and bleaches corals, hitting fishing communities.
✏️ Map to sketch in the exam · Himalayan and coastal frontlines
- Shade: Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh = Himalayan states
- Shade: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal = coastal states
- Mark: Sundarbans (21.95, 88.90), Kedarnath (30.73, 79.07)
- Legend: Sundarbans
- Kedarnath 2013
Draw on India's official outline (Survey of India boundary).
Way forward
- Mitigation: India's updated NDC (2022) commits to cut the emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent from 2005 by 2030 and reach about 50 per cent non-fossil power capacity, up from the 33-35 per cent and 40 per cent pledged in 2015.
- Adaptation: the National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008) and its Himalayan ecosystem mission, State action plans, cyclone early warning, climate-resilient crops and mangrove restoration.
Mitigation decides how much warming the world gets; adaptation decides how many Indians it hurts. Pursuing both, from the updated NDC under the Paris Agreement to district action plans, keeps the Himalaya and the coast habitable.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
