Climate Change

Although agriculture is the largest source of livelihood for people in India, its share in the gross domestic product (GDP) has been declining over time with

Chirimiri Coalfield is a part of Central India Coalfields, located in Koriya district, Chhattisgarh.

Every night, an incandescent bulb lights up the terrace room of a house in Lalitkhera village in Haryana. Insects from the adjoining pond swarm to this solitary bright spot under which Sheila Devi sits with a cup and saucer in her hand.

Chinna, 35, harvests fish and is engaged on a piece rate basis by the local contractor who has rights to fishing in the village tank in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. At times, Chinna also uses family labour to complete his work.

The coastal district of Puri in Odisha is infested with water hyacinth. In 1982, 10 million people and 3 million hectares of agricultural land was affected by floods causing the water hyacinth to increase to such an extent that it has affected the lives and livelihood of communities for almost three decades.

Karanataka records failure of winter crops, seeks Rs 1,417 crore Central assistance 

Erratic rainfall, heavy storms, extreme weather and droughts are some of the major impacts of climate changes. Though it affects everyone, certain sections of society, like indigenous people who live closer to the natural environment, are in fact more vulnerable to these variations.

The Babur Nama mentions that the “

Forest guards in India have fought many things over time in the course of their daily work--poachers, irate citizens, even animals at times! But they are now facing a threat that may well be beyond their capacity to overcome. A threat that is not just responsible for the death of individual animals, but for the destruction of entire groups of species--climate change.

Today's rural poor operate in highly risky and uncertain environments. Grappling with multiple stresses like eroding natural resources, poor assets and increasing climate variability, they are constantly adjusting their lives and livelihoods--changing a crop grown, digging another well, or migrating to a nearby town.