Rising global temperatures and erratic weather patterns have made India highly vulnerable to climate change. As over 75 per cent of the country’s districts are identified as hotspots for extreme climate events, there is an undeniable and urgent need to actively address the issue.

When it comes to climate change, not all are impacted equally. Factors such as socioeconomic status, cultural norms and geographic location contribute to the uneven impact experienced by different communities. 

Rural communities often lack the necessary resources and adaptive capacities to effectively deal with the impacts of climate change. Limited access to technology, financial resources, information, and education impedes their ability to adopt climate-resilient practices and diversify livelihood options, thereby increasing vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change.

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The agricultural sector, heavily reliant on reliable weather and rainfall patterns, suffers greatly from the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Droughts, floods and storms disrupt agricultural activities, leading to crop failures, loss of livelihoods and food insecurity, leaving farmers exposed to decreased productivity and income instability. 

Additionally, in countries like India, climate change also widens gender-based disparities. In many rural areas, women shoulder the burden of fetching water, collecting fuel and working on family farms, making their daily lives increasingly challenging as climate change exacerbates these difficulties.

Hindered well-being and development opportunities for women and children, due to reduced mobility and decision-making, in the face of increasing challenges further perpetuates the inequity. 

Capacity building critical

Climate information services play a critical role in enhancing society’s resilience, providing essential data on climate risks and available strategies for adaptation and mitigation. By promoting access to climate information, India can empower its citizens to build resilience, make informed choices, and contribute to a sustainable and climate-resilient future.

There should be a focus on enhancing adaptive capacity through climate-resilient agriculture practices, diversification of livelihoods and access to credit and insurance for farmers. Investments in infrastructure, such as water management systems, irrigation facilities and early warning systems, can help communities cope with climate-related disasters. 

Education and awareness programmes that highlight climate change impacts and adaptation strategies should be promoted at the community level. Demonstrating techniques and creating community leadership to tackle climate issues can further help sensitise the larger community. 

Interventions around water management that bring clean potable water to the rural doorstep or sustainable fuel alternatives can directly target environmental indicators and some of the gender disparities associated with climate change.

Building climate resilience in rural India while incorporating a gendered perspective into interventional frameworks can have additional outsized positive impacts on outcomes. Empowering women through gender-responsive policies, and improving their access to education, healthcare and income-generating opportunities, is vital for building their resilience.

Women, children and other vulnerable groups should take on leadership roles, as they are disproportionately reliant on natural resources to support their day-to-day lives. Such resources are more heavily impacted by climate change.

Green growth — a crucial step

Green growth entails balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability, as opposed to pursuing short-term economic development without considering its long-term cost to the planet.

In rural areas, where communities heavily rely on agriculture and natural resources, embracing green growth principles can lead to multiple benefits. Implementing climate-smart agricultural techniques, adopting renewable energy solutions and promoting sustainable land and water management practices can reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as enhance rural livelihoods and resilience.

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Embracing green growth strategies can allow rural India to pave the way for a more sustainable and climate-resilient future, benefiting both the environment and its communities.

Philanthropic initiatives play a vital role in building climate-resilient communities. India currently heavily relies on government expenditure (93 per cent in 2020) for social sector funding, the focus for which is largely on achieving UN-mandated sustainable development goals by 2030.

However, for climate finance, private capital has been essential. As of 2019-2020, the private sector contributed over 57 per cent of climate finance in India, amounting to Rs 1,75,000 crore.

The negative effects of climate change demand philanthropic investments as a high priority, safeguarding vulnerable stakeholders and expediting the transition to a net-zero future. Philanthropic action has already played a pivotal role in advancing climate action in India.

Still, domestic and global resources in this area remain inadequate compared to the magnitude of the problem. Given the limited time window to stabilise the climate, the outcomes of philanthropic efforts are highly significant for the future of humanity.

Fostering collaboration and partnerships among various stakeholders, including government agencies, civil society organisations, research institutions and private sector entities, can promote knowledge exchange, sharing of best practices, and joint efforts to build climate resilience in rural India. By working together, we can create a more sustainable and resilient future for all.

The author is the chairperson and founder of The Hans Foundation, a non-profit focussing on sustainable development.

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth

Rural India is diverse — from coastal regions, deltas and flood plains to deserts, hills, mountains and plateaus. Those living there have diverse aspirations, resources and skills as well. They are marginal farmers, manual wage earners, fisherfolk, animal-rearers, shepherds, nomads and many times a combination of these. 

That leaves millions of rural Indians at the mercy of the weather and climate change. Any deviation from standard long-term weather patterns makes them vulnerable to the uncertainties emerging from changing weather patterns with little access to coping mechanisms.  

Read more: Nearly 150,000 Indians have died in the past 51 years because of extreme weather: WMO

This happens in many ways. 

Rising temperature and heat stress

Most rural Indians eke out their livelihoods under the baking sun. But exposure to heat higher than 38 degrees Celsius is a severe health hazard. At temperatures above 40.6°C, our organs start to fail and the risk of death increases sharply, according to Mridula Ramesh’s book The Climate Solution. 

Coping mechanisms to these extreme heat conditions, like access to shade and hydration, are generally unavailable to the workers engaged. The stress worsens for malnourished women, small kids and elderly workers. 

The productivity of crops and animals is also badly affected by extreme temperatures. For instance, the increase in temperature in January lowers the yields of wheat and chickpeas. Similarly, the productivity of stressed animals is reduced significantly. 

Changing rainfall patterns

Around 120 million marginal farmer households depend on their farming and wages. Their farming practices, like time of field preparations, sowing, selection of varieties, labour availability and water management, have evolved based on prevalent weather patterns for ages. 

These aberrations from the typical weather patterns put all the farming operations in total chaos for these resource-poor farmers. This leads to poorer yields and severe economic losses. 

The implication of delayed onset of monsoon or failed September rainfalls and untimely rainfall in November for rainfed farmers is well known. It shrinks the whole rural economy and causes huge agrarian distress.        

Flood impact 

After floods, the farms and waterbodies need to be repaired. Dead livestock has to be restocked. Homes, small businesses and enterprises washed away by the torrents of rain need refinancing. 

There is a severe erosion of assets and livelihoods. But more than that, there is hardly any coping mechanism to meet these losses. 

During the flood periods, the human tragedy is immense. People survive on the high grounds, roadside and embankments for weeks and months, under plastic tents suffering during the flood and post-flood traumas.   

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Devastating droughts 

Droughts are slow destroyers. They slowly suck out the vitality of rural communities. 

The income of marginal and livestock farmers is affected by long-term water stress. They find themselves in a fix; they can’t abandon the farm and move away to look for alternatives and find it extremely difficult to continue with it. 

Marginal farmers have little control over the water needed for farming and water stress leads to unpredictable yields and reduced income to farmers. With the increasing water stress, farmers will reduce their investment in farming, further reducing productivity. 

More droughts also lead to the use of unsustainable already-stressed water sources. These include mining water from deeper layers that can’t be replenished, stealing water from other plots and fighting for water access.

This will lead to a significant reduction in farm incomes and increased dependency of wages from non-farm labour and distress migration. And, of course, with migration, the elderly and children left behind in villages will suffer more.

Vector-borne diseases

These unpredictable floods, droughts and rising temperatures will also increase vector-borne diseases like malaria, Kala Azar, dengue, chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis and Zika. 

The changing climate also changes the prevailing pattern of vector emergence, their pathogenicity and the severity of vectors. This may create havoc on already scanty health services available to rural communities. These vector-borne diseases can become endemic in rural areas, leading to acute human distress. 

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Nutrition impact

Climate change will also impact the quantity and quality of food available to rural communities. 

As already mentioned, the productivity of crops will be adversely affected due to unfavourable weather conditions. But with increasing carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere, there is also a reduction of protein content in food grains like rice and wheat, which are the staples for rural communities. 

This reduced nutrition access is compounded by increasing vector-borne diseases in malnourished children and women.   

Toll on mental health

The stress and anxiety related to loss of livelihoods, uncertain futures, helplessness and physical stress due to extreme weather conditions also affect the mental health of rural communities. 

The anxiety to rebuild their lives and livelihoods or distressed migration to new places, feeling the vulnerability of their existence makes the rural people depressed and may lead to living unhappy lives or even add to farmers’ suicides.  

Call for action

Globally, there are discussions on actions around compensation, mitigation and restoration of climate change-related losses. Crucially, there must be actions at the local level. 

Each community has a different kind of vulnerability to the risks associated with climate change. The vulnerability reduction action needs to be customised to the specific human and ecological situation. 

This will need close interaction with the communities. Universalisation of access to public system support, insurance, easy access to financial systems, diversification of livelihood choices and collective action can reduce the vulnerability of rural communities.

Considering the scale of climate change, the hazards and losses are inevitable; it is important to build coping mechanisms for rural communities too. 

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It is a global challenge with local implications; hence the solution should also be of that scale. Efforts are required everywhere, including the urban communities. The solutions may cover these points:

• Helping the community to understand the spread and depth of the crisis — Often, communities in hilly regions do not appreciate the challenge of rising sea levels. Similarly, the urban folks may not appreciate how the power cuts affect the farmers and their livelihoods.
• Solving water and energy crisis challenges — Investing in rainwater harvesting, checking soil erosions and distributing renewable energy like stand-alone microgrids for rural communities.
• Making the primary healthcare functional
• Nature-based solutions for climate restoration like large-scale reforestation / agroforestry investments and linking them with the livelihoods of local communities.
• Technologies for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Local-level waste management — Recycle, reuse and compost.
• Local food system — Diversified food production to meet the needs locally, reducing food miles, carbon dioxide, energy and water footprint.
• Diversified livelihoods portfolio for rural communities to bring resilience and reduce vulnerabilities. 

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There are no easy solutions to this global crisis, but we have no choice other than to try everything that may work. 

Ashok Kumar is director for farm prosperity at non-profit Transform Rural India

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth

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