Climate Change and Livelihood: Uncovering the Vulnerability of Farmers in Jaipur and Udaipur Districts of Rajasthan, India

Abstract

Developing countries such as India, with their relatively higher dependence on agriculture for livelihoods, are more likely to suffer from such an impending climate change. The study was conducted to assess the livelihood vulnerability of farmers in Jaipur and Udaipur district of Rajasthan and to find the drivers components which leads to increase their vulnerability. Multistage sampling was used to select 240 respondents randomly from Jaipur and Udaipur districts in Rajasthan. The Livelihood Vulnerability Index includes seven major components: Socio-Demographic Profile (SDP), Livelihood Strategies (LS), Social Networks (SN), Health (H), Food (F), Water (A), and Natural Disasters and Climate Variability. Each is comprised of several indicators or sub-components. Descriptive statistics were applied to compute both the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and the LVI based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) framework. The livelihood vulnerability analysis showed that both Jaipur and Udaipur households were moderately to highly vulnerable, with exposure to climate variability, limited adaptive capacity, and sensitivity in key components such as food security, water access, and health services. Limited adaptive capacity, particularly due to low education levels and dependency on agriculture, compounds the risk. This imbalance between high exposure and limited resilience mechanisms demands targeted policy interventions that prioritize water management, food security, livelihood diversification, and improved social and institutional support.