‘Climate change’ is a global problem. How will India be affected by climate change? How will the Himalayan and coastal states of India be affected?

Introduction: Climate change is global in cause but local in effect. India, with a long coastline, the Himalayan cryosphere, and a monsoon-dependent farm economy, ranks among the most exposed countries, so the impacts fall unevenly across its regions and demand region-specific responses.

Body:

• National-level impacts: an erratic monsoon and rising heat threaten rain-fed agriculture, crop yields, and water security; warmer temperatures widen the spread of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue; and extreme events — floods, droughts, and heatwaves — grow more frequent and severe, hurting the rural and urban poor hardest of all.
• Himalayan states: warming drives glacial retreat, the swelling and bursting of glacial lakes (GLOFs), and the drying of mountain springs that feed perennial rivers. Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim face landslides, altered flows in the Ganga and Brahmaputra, and risks to hydropower and tourism.
• Coastal states: sea-level rise and intensifying cyclones threaten Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal. Saline intrusion damages farmland and aquifers, the Sundarbans mangroves and low-lying islands erode, and warming, acidifying seas disrupt fisheries and the livelihoods that depend on them. Storm surge and coastal flooding also threaten ports, refineries, and dense urban settlements.

Conclusion: A region-specific response under the National Action Plan on Climate Change and the State Action Plans — protecting glaciers, coasts, and farms together — is essential to build resilience across these varied landscapes.