Youth Eco-Anxiety Rises as 88 Percent Report Visible Climate Shifts

A survey by the Centre for Science and Environment and Down To Earth found that 88 per cent of Indian youth aged 16 to 25 perceive climate change around them, with 67 per cent saying it already affects their daily lives. The findings are published in the State of India's Environment 2026 report, released at the Anil Agarwal Dialogue in Rajasthan.

The survey, conducted between October and November 2025 among 300 respondents aged 16 to 25, found that 57 per cent described themselves as anxious about climate and environmental conditions. Many characterised their feelings as helplessness, fear, sadness, anger, or betrayal. Richard Mahapatra, managing editor of Down To Earth and lead editor of the SOE 2026 report, noted that the 2.4 billion young people globally between ages 10 and 29 are driving a new wave of environment and economic-justice protests without centralised leadership.

The SOE 2026 report frames eco-anxiety within a broader context of rising inequality. Two-thirds of the global population now lives in countries where economic inequality has increased since 1990, according to the report. The World Bank estimates one in five people faces risk from climate disasters. Any extreme weather event, the report notes, can push vulnerable households below the poverty line, with young people disproportionately exposed to both climate impacts and economic insecurity. Experts note that anyone born after February 1986 may never have experienced a month with statistically normal temperatures.

Youth-led protests on environmental and economic security issues are increasing globally, the report finds, driven by failures of the current political system to address basic survival concerns. The SOE report identifies economic security as the dominant grievance across most protest movements. The Centre for Science and Environment has called for policy responses that address both the physical manifestations of climate change and the economic vulnerabilities that amplify their impact on younger generations. The full 2026 State of India's Environment report is available through CSE.

Key figure — 88% of surveyed youth said they perceive climate change around them