In recent years, India has experienced frequent and intense heat waves alongside some of the highest levels of air pollution in the world. In 2024, India suffered its longest heatwave since 2010, with many states facing daytime temperatures above 40°C (104°F) for an entire month and reporting more than 44,000 cases of heatstroke. At the same time, exposure to air pollution such as fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) and ozone continues to contribute substantially to premature deaths and diseases. Notably, 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India. Excessive heat and air pollution affect each other. Heat waves and high pollution episodes often occur under the same stagnant, high-pressure weather conditions, which limit air circulation and allow pollutants to build up near the surface. High temperatures also speed up the chemical reactions that create ground-level ozone and can influence the formation of fine particulate matter, worsening air quality, especially in areas with heavy traffic, industry, and other emission sources.

To understand how different groups of people view these hazards, the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and CVoter surveyed 10,751 adults nationwide from December 2024 to February 2025. Respondents were asked how worried they are that severe heat waves or severe air pollution might harm their local area. Earlier this year, we released topline results for the Indian population overall. Here, we break down these results by key demographics – age, gender, urban-rural status, and education.

Extreme Heat and Air Pollution Worry by Age Group

Overall, younger and middle-aged adults are more likely than older adults to say they are “very worried” about both severe heat waves and severe air pollution. More than half of Indians across most age groups say they are very worried that severe heat waves might harm their local area including adults aged 18-29 (54%) and those aged 30-44 and 45-59 (both 58%). Forty-eight percent of adults aged 60 and older are very worried that severe heat waves might harm their local area.

A similar pattern appears regarding worry about severe air pollution. Fifty-four percent of adults aged 18-29, 55% of those 30-44, and 55% of those 45-59 say they are very worried about severe air pollution harming their local area, compared with 48% of those 60 and older.

Extreme Heat and Air Pollution Worry by Gender

Women and men also report high levels of concern about both severe heat and severe air pollution, but there is a larger gender gap in worry about heat waves than air pollution. For severe heat waves, 59% of women in India say they are very worried, compared with 53% of men. For severe air pollution, 54% of women and 53% of men say they are very worried.

Extreme Heat and Air Pollution Worry by Urban-Rural Status

Worry about heat and air pollution is widespread across urban, semi-urban, and rural populations. For severe heat waves, 56% of urban residents, 52% of semi-urban residents, and 56% of rural residents say they are very worried that severe heat waves might harm their local area.

Majorities across all three regions also say they are very worried about severe air pollution, although people in urban areas (59%) are more likely to say so than semi-urban and rural residents (both 52%).

Extreme Heat and Air Pollution Worry by Education

Worry about both severe heat waves and severe air pollution is high across all education groups in India. Majorities in every education group say they are very worried that severe heat waves might harm their local area, including 55% of those with no schooling or primary or less, 55% of those with middle or secondary education, 56% of those with higher secondary or diploma, and 58% of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

A similar pattern appears for severe air pollution. About half of adults with no schooling or only primary education say they are very worried that severe air pollution might harm their local area (50%), compared with similar proportions among those with middle or secondary education (51%) and those with higher secondary or diploma (54%). Among adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher, six in ten (60%) say they are very worried about severe air pollution.

Overall, worry about both hazards is widespread across education levels, with somewhat higher concern among more educated adults, especially for severe air pollution.

Key Takeaways

Taken together, these results suggest that concern about extreme heat and air pollution is widespread, especially among younger and middle-aged adults, women, and people living in India’s cities. High levels of worry can help build momentum for practical measures such as local and state heat action plans, early warning systems, access to cooling centers and safe drinking water, adjustments to work and school hours during dangerous heat, and policies that cut pollution from vehicles, industry, and household fuels. Our findings can help these efforts better engage the public with public information campaigns, particularly vulnerable populations such as the elderly who are at higher risk from heat waves but may underestimate them or are unprepared to respond.

Methods

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey of adults (18+) in India conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and CVoter, an international survey company headquartered in Delhi, India. A nationally representative sample of respondents was contacted by mobile telephone using predictive dialing technology and computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). The survey was translated into 12 languages (Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Odiya, Bangla, Asamiya, and English) and respondents received the survey in one of those languages based on their geographic location in India. National Census-based demographic parameters were used to create sampling targets for gender, education, and socioeconomic status. The results were also weighed after completion of the data collection to adjust the final sample to match national demographic parameters on gender, age, education, income, religion, and urbanicity. Interview dates: December 5, 2024 – February 18, 2025. Interviews: 10,751 adults (18+). Average margin of error: +/- 1 percentage point at the 95% confidence level.

In the charts, percentage points are rounded to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given chart may total slightly higher or lower than 100%.

Weighted sample proportions and average margins of error at the 95% confidence interval for the subgroups are:

• Age:
  • 18-29  +/- 1.6 percentage points (n = 2,999, 31.4% of weighted sample)
  • 30-44 +/- 1.5 percentage points (n = 4,600, 37.3% of weighted sample)
  • 45-59 +/- 1.7 percentage points (n = 2,333, 20.0% of weighted sample)
  • 60 or above +/- 1.8 percentage points (n = 819, 11.3% of weighted sample)
• Gender:
  • Women +/- 1.4 percentage points (n = 5,254, 47.9 % of weighted sample)
  • Men +/- 1.3 percentage points (n = 5,497,  52.1% of weighted sample)
• Urban-rural status:
  • Urban +/- 1.7 percentage points (n = 2,663, 22.2% of weighted sample)
  • Semi-urban +/- 1.8 percentage points (n = 952, 7.8% of weighted sample)
  • Rural +/- 1.0 percentage points (n = 7,136, 70.0% of weighted sample)
• Education:
  • No schooling / primary or less +/- 1.7 percentage points (n = 2,477, 23.3% of weighted sample)
  • Middle / secondary +/- 1.6 percentage points (n = 3,229, 31.9% of weighted sample)
  • Higher secondary / diploma +/- 1.7 percentage points (n = 2,217, 20.1% of weighted sample)
  • Bachelor’s degree or higher +/- 1.6 percentage points (n = 2,784, 24.6% of weighted sample)

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