Half of India’s 651 farm districts vulnerable to climate change; 109 at very high risk: Centre

The assessment shows the growing threat that rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and extreme weather pose to crop production and food security in the world’s largest agricultural economy.

Nearly half of India’s predominantly agricultural districts have been identified as vulnerable to climate change, with 109 classified as facing a “very high” level of risk, according to an official assessment cited by the Centre in Parliament on Tuesday. The assessment shows the growing threat that rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and extreme weather pose to crop production and food security in the country.

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Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), under its National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project, had assessed climate risks across 651 predominantly agricultural districts using protocols of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Of these, 310 districts were identified as vulnerable, including 109 categorised as “very high” risk and 201 as “high” risk.

The government, however, did not identify the districts in its reply.

The findings come as India grapples with increasingly frequent heatwaves, erratic monsoons, prolonged dry spells and intense rainfall events that have disrupted agricultural production in recent years.

To help farmers adapt, the Centre said District Agriculture Contingency Plans (DACPs) have been prepared for all 651 districts. These plans recommend location-specific climate-resilient crop varieties, cropping patterns and farm management practices to deal with weather extremes.

The government also highlighted progress in developing climate-resilient crop varieties. It said ICAR released 2,900 crop varieties between 2014 and 2024, of which 2,661 are tolerant to one or more biotic or abiotic stresses. These include 1,258 cereal varieties, 410 pulse varieties and 368 oilseed varieties, along with varieties of fibre crops, forage crops and sugarcane.

Production and distribution of climate-resilient seeds has also increased over the past seven years, according to the ministry. Breeder seed production rose from 10,086.9 quintals in 2019-20 to 39,919.5 quintals in 2025-26, while quality seed production increased from 31,272.7 quintals to 85,534.9 quintals during the same period. Overall, more than 159,600 quintals of breeder seed and 382,855 quintals of quality seed of climate-resilient varieties were produced between 2019-20 and 2025-26.