Publications

For a PDF of any publication, you can email chandni.singh@iihs.ac.in for a copy

Journal Articles

  1. Amjath-Babu TS, Anwar NH, Chanda A, Chaturvedi RK, Hina S, Fadnavis S, Sharathchandra C, Shakya SR, Singh C. Perspectives on climate change in South Asia. Nature Climate Change (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02442-7
  2. Obossou E, Totin E, Singh C, Segnon AC (2025, in press). A systematic review of climate change adaptation in vegetable farming systems in Africa, Communications Earth & Environment.
  3. McPhearson T et al. (2025). Global synthesis and regional insights for mainstreaming urban nature-based solutions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(29), e2315910121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2315910121
  4. Joshi N, Ranjit N, Peddibhotla A, Singh C (2025). Lost and damaged: a systematic review of current loss and damage due to climate change in India, Climate & Development https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2025.2488382
  5. Maskell G et al. (2025). Dichotomy or continuum?: A global review of the interaction between autonomous and planned adaptations, Ecology & Society https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-15335-300118
  6. Singh C (2024). Human Dimensions of Climate Change Adaptation: gaps and knowledge frontiers. Dialogues in Climate Change. https://doi.org/10.1177/29768659241297772
  7. Singh C, Vyas D, Patil S, Ranjit N, Poonacha P, Surampally S (2024). How are Indian cities adapting to extreme heat? Insights on heat risk governance and incremental adaptation from ten urban Heat Action Plans. PLOS Climate. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000484
  8. Singh C, Nirwan (2024) Effective heat adaptation must engage with unequal heat risk. One Earth. 7 (8), 1320-1323
  9. Maharjan et al. (2024). The Migration Intersections Grid: An Organizing Framework for Migration Research in and through the Twenty-first Century. International Migration Review https://doi.org/10.1177/01979183241275469
  10. Cundill G, Harvey B, Ley D, Singh C, Huson B, Aldunce P, … & Totin E. (202) Engaging diverse knowledge holders in adaptation research. Nature Climate Change 14, 662–664 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02056-5
  11. Singh C, Ramesh A, Hagenlocher M, Sekhar H, Sabino-Siemons A, Okunola OH, Werners S (2024). Applying recent advances in climate adaptation research to urban heat risk management WIREs Climate Change. DOI:10.1002/wcc.901
  12. Rahman A, Singh C, & Srinivas A (2024). Migration Along Bengaluru’s Rural–Urban Continuum: Implications for Household Well-being and Climate Change Adaptation. Indian Journal of Human Development, 09737030241244572.
  13. Simpson NP, Mach KJ, Tebboth MG, Gilmore EA, Siders AR, Holden P, Anderson B, Singh C, Sabour S, Stringer LC, Sterly H, Williams PA, Meyer ALS, Cundill G, Rosengaertner S, Nunow A, Amakrane K & Trisos, CH (2024). Research priorities for climate mobility. One Earth. 7(4), 589-607.
  14. Gilmore EA, Wrathall D, Adams HJ, Buhaug H, Castellanos E, Hilmi N, McLeman R, Singh C, Adelekan I (2024). Defining severe risks related to mobility from climate change. Climate Risk Management. 44, 100601
  15. Petzold et al. (2023). A global assessment of actors and their roles in climate change adaptation. Nature Climate Change. 13, 1250–1257.
  16. Reckien D, Magnan AK, Singh C, Lukas-Sithole M, Orlove B, Schipper ELF, Coughlan de Perez E (2023). Navigating the continuum between adaptation and maladaptation. Nature Climate Change. 13, 907–918.
  17. Few R, Ranjit N, Nalla V, Jain G, Tebboth MG, Singh C, Chhotray V & Marsh H (2023). ‘We are not in the same boat’: Representations of disaster and recovery in India. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 92, 103709.
  18. Tebboth MG, Singh C, Spear D, Mensah AM, & Ansah P (2023). Everyday mobility and changing livelihood trajectories: implications for vulnerability and adaptation in dryland regions. Ecology and Society, 28(1).
  19. Simpson NP et al. (2023). Adaptation to compound climate risks: a systematic global stocktake. iScience, 105926.
  20. Rao N, Patil S, Singh C, & Roy P (2023). Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture for Sustainability and Wellbeing: A response. Sustainable Cities and Society, 104462.
  21. Pickering K, Galappaththi EK, Ford JD, Singh C, et al. (2023). Indigenous peoples and the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic scoping review. Environmental Research Letters, 18(3), 1-16.
  22. Martin MA, Boakye EA, Boyd E…Singh C…et al (2022). Ten new insights in climate science 2022. Global Sustainability, 5:e20.
  23. Huxley R, Walsh B, … Singh, C… (2022). A Research Agenda for Transformative Urban Climate Action. Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, 1(1), 13-31.
  24. Ford J D, Zavaleta-Cortijo C, Singh C… (2022). Interactions between climate and COVID-19. The Lancet Planetary Health, 6(10), e825-e833.
  25. Rao N, Patil S, Singh C, Roy P, Pryor C, Poonacha P, & Genes M (2022). Cultivating Sustainable and Healthy Cities: A Systematic Literature Review of the Outcomes of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture. Sustainable Cities and Society, 104063.
  26. Roy J, Prakash A, Some S, Singh C, … (2022). Synergies and trade-offs between climate change adaptation options and gender equality: a review of the global literature. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 9(1), 1-13.
  27. Maharjan A, … Singh C, & Mishra A (2022). Air pollution exposure and its impacts on everyday life and livelihoods of vulnerable urban populations in South Asia. Environmental Research Communications. 4(7) doi:10.1088/2515-7620/ac77e0.
  28. Singh C, Iyer S, New MG, Few R, Kuchimanchi B, Segnon AC, & Morchain D (2021). Interrogating ‘effectiveness’ in climate change adaptation: 11 guiding principles for adaptation research and practice. Climate and Development, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2021.1964937.
  29. Singh C, Solomon DS, Rao N (2021). How does climate change adaptation policy in India consider gender? An analysis of 28 state action plans. Climate Policy 10.1080/14693062.2021.1953434
  30. Berrang-Ford et al. (2021). A global systematic stocktake of evidence on human adaptation to climate change. Nature Climate Change 11, 989–1000 10.1038/s41558-021-01170-y
  31. Cundill G, Singh C, Adger WN, de Campos RS, Vincent K, Tebboth M, Maharjan A (2021). Toward a climate mobilities research agenda: intersectionality, immobility, and policy responses. Global Environmental Change 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102315
  32. Solomon DS, Singh C, Islam F (2021). Examining the outcomes of urban adaptation interventions on gender equality using SDG 5. Climate and Development 10.1080/17565529.2021.1939643
  33. Singh C, Jain G, Sukhwani V, Shaw R (2021). Losses and damages associated with slow-onset events: urban drought and water insecurity in Asia. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2021.02.006
  34. Singh C, Madhavan M, Arvind J, Bazaz A (2021). Climate change adaptation in Indian cities: a review of existing actions and spaces for triple wins. Urban Climate 10.1016/j.uclim.2021.100783
  35. Ulibarri, N., Ajibade, I., Galappaththi, E. K., Joe, E. T., Lesnikowski, A., Mach, K. J., Musah-Surugu, J. I., Nagle Alverio, G., Segnon, A. C., Siders, A. R., Sotnik, G., Campbell, D., Chalastani, V. I., Jagannathan, K., Khavhagali, V., Reckien, D., Shang, Y., Singh, C., & Zommers, Z. (2021). A global assessment of policy tools to support climate adaptation. Climate Policy, 22 (1), 77-96.
  36. Thomas A, Theokritoff E, Lesnikowski A, ReckienD, Jagannathan K, Cremades R, Campbell D, Tom Joe E, Sitati A, Singh C, … Garschagen M, Ford J, Bowen J & Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative Team (2021). Global evidence of constraints and limits to human adaptation. Regional Environmental Change 21(3), 1-15.
  37. Singh C, Poonacha P, Koduganti M, Patil S, Sharma S (2021). When the ‘field’ moves online: reflections on virtual data collection during COVID-19. Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal 4(2), 149-157.
  38. Lynée L Turek-Hankins, de Perez EC, Scarpa G, Ruiz-Diaz R, Shwerdtle PN, Joe ET, Galappaththi EK, French EM, Austin SE, Singh C, Siña M, A R Siders, van Aalst MK, Templeman S, Nunbogu AN, Berrang-Ford L, Agrawal T, GAMI team, Mach KJ (2021). Climate change adaptation to extreme heat: A global systematic review of implemented action. Oxford Open Climate Change, kgab005.
  39. Few R, Marsh H, Jain G, Singh C, Tebboth M (2021). Representing recovery: how narrative constructions shape long-term outcomes for disaster-affected people. Progress in Development Studies, 21(1), 7-25.
  40. Few R, Spear D, Singh C, Tebboth MGL, Davies JE, Thompson-Hall M (2020) Culture as a mediator of climate change adaptation: neither static nor unidirectional. Wires Climate Change, 12 (1), e687.
  41. Bharucha Z et al. (2020). The Top 100 questions for the sustainable intensification of agriculture in India’s rainfed drylands. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 19(2), 106-127.
  42. Fazey et al. (2020). Transforming knowledge systems for life on Earth: Visions of future systems and how to get there. Energy Research & Social Sciencehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101724
  43. Singh C, Bazaz A, Ford J, Ley D, Revi R (2020) Assessing the feasibility of climate change adaptation options in the water sector: examples from rural and urban landscapes. Water Security https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2020.100071
  44. Singh C, Ford J, Ley D, Bazaz A, Revi R (2020) Assessing the feasibility of adaptation options: methodological advancements and directions for climate adaptation research and practice. Climatic Change 
  45. Mechler R, Singh C, Ebi K et al. (2020) Loss and Damage and limits to adaptation: recent IPCC insights and implications for climate science and policy. Sustainability Science 
  46. Maharjan A, Safra de Campos R, Singh C et al. (2020) Migration and household adaptation in climate-sensitive hotspots in South Asia. Current Climate Change Reports 10.1007/s40641-020-00153-z 
  47. Rao N, Mishra A, Prakash A, Singh C,  Qaisrani A, Poonacha P, Vincent K, Bedelian C (2019) Women’s agency and adaptive capacity in climate change hotspots: A qualitative comparative analysis from Asia and Africa. Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-019-0638-y 
  48. Singh C, Tebboth M, Spear D, Mensah A, Ansah P (2019) Opening up the methodological toolkit on adaptation research: reflections from using life history approaches Regional Environmental Change 19(8), 2667-2682 DOI: 10.1007/s10113-019-01562-z
  49. Rao N, Singh C, Solomon D et al. (2020) Managing risk, changing aspirations and household dynamics: implications for well-being and adaptation in semi-arid Africa and India. World Development. 
  50. Ley D, Corsair HJ, Fuss S, Singh C (2020). Evaluating the Use of Renewable Energy and Communal Governance Systems for Climate Change Adaptation. The Central European Review of Economics and Management
  51. Singh C and Basu R (2019) Moving in and out of vulnerability: interrogating migration as an adaptation strategy along a rural urban continuum in India The Geographical Journal 1-16.
  52. Ziervogel G, Satyal P, Basu R, Mensah A, Singh C, Hegga S, Abu T (2019) Vertical Integration for Climate Change Adaptation in the Water Sector: Lessons from Decentralisation in Africa and India Regional Environmental Change. DOI: 10.1007%2Fs10113-019-01571-y
  53. Conway D, Nicholls R, Brown S, Tebboth M, Adger WN, Bashir A, Biemans H, Crick F, Lutz A, De Campos RS, Said S, Singh C, Zaroug M, Ludi E, New M, Wester P (2019) The need for bottom-up assessments of climate risks and adaptation in climate-sensitive regions. Nature Climate Change. DOI: 10.1038/s41558-019-0502-0 
  54. Singh C, Solomon D, Bendapudi R, Kuchimanchi B, Iyer S, Bazaz A (2019). What shapes vulnerability and risk management in semi-arid India? Moving towards an agenda of sustainable adaptation. Environment and Development. DOI: 10.1016/j.envdev.2019.04.007
  55. Singh C (2019) Migration as a driver of changing household structures: implications for household livelihoods and adaptation. Migration and Development, 8(3), 301-319.
  56. Singh C, Rahman A, Srinivas A, Bazaz A (2018) Risks and responses in rural India: implications for local climate change adaptation action. Climate Risk Management, 1, 52–68.
  57. Singh C, Osbahr H, and Dorward P (2018)The implications of rural perceptions of water scarcity on differential adaptation behaviour in Rajasthan, India. Regional Environmental Change, 18, 2417-2432.
  58. Singh C, Rahman A (2018) Urbanising the rural: reflections on India’s National Rurban Mission Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, 5(2), 370-377.
  59. Gajjar S, Singh C, Deshpande (2018) Tracing back to move ahead: Development Pathways that define Adaptation Futures. Climate and Development, DOI: 10.1080/17565529.2018.1442793
  60. Singh C (2018) Is Participatory Watershed Development Building Local Adaptive Capacity? Findings from a case study in Rajasthan, India. Environment and Development, DOI: 10.1016/j.envdev.2017.11.004
  61. Singh C (2018) Using life histories to understand temporal vulnerability to climate change in highly dynamic contexts. SAGE Research Methods Case, DOI: 10.4135/9781526440358
  62. Singh C, Daron J, Bazaz A,  Ziervogel G, Spear D, Krishnaswamy J, Zaroug M, Kituyi E (2017) The utility of weather and climate information for adaptation decision making: current uses and future prospects in Africa and India. Climate and Development,10(5), 389–405 DOI: 10.1080/17565529.2017.1318744 
  63. Singh C, Deshpande T, Basu, R (2017) How do we assess vulnerability to climate change in India? A systematic review of literature Regional Environmental Change, 17(2) 527-538DOI: 10.1007/s10113-016-1043-y
  64. Singh C, Dorward P, and Osbahr H (2016) Developing a holistic approach to the analysis of farmer decision-making: implications for adaptation policy and practice in developing countries. Land Use Policy, 59, 329-343 DOI:10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.06.041
  65. Zanzanaini C, Tran B, Singh C, Hart A, Milder J, DeClerck F (2017) Integrated landscape management for agriculture, livelihoods, and ecosystem conservation: An assessment of experience from South and Southeast Asia. Landscape and Urban Planning, 165, 11-21.

Book chapters

  1. Singh C (2022) Locating climate change research: the privileges and pitfalls of choosing over- and under-researched places. In: Button C & Aiken GT (Eds.) Over-Researched Places? Routledge.
  2. Jain G, Singh C, Malladi T (2021) (Re)creating disasters – A case of post-disaster resettlements in Chennai. In: Johnson C, Jain G, Lavell A (Eds.) Rethinking Urban Risk and Relocation in the Global South. UCL Press, London open access
  3. Singh, C. (2021) Of borewells and bicycles: the gendered nature of water access in Kolar, Karnataka and its implications on local adaptive capacity. In: Hans A, Rao N, Prakash A, Patel A (Eds.) En-gendering Climate Change: Learnings from South Asia. Routledge. open access
  4. Gajjar SP, Jain G, Michael K and Singh C (2019) Entrenched vulnerabilities: Evaluating climate justice across development and adaptation responses in Southern India. In: K.K. Bhavnani, J. Foran, P.A. Kurian & D. Munshi (Eds.), Climate Futures: Re-imagining Global Climate Justice. ZED Books.
  5. Sami N, Singh C and Bazaz A (2016) Climate Change Policy in India and Goal 13. In: Urban Policy Dialogues: Operationalising SDGs. Indian Institute for Human Settlements,  Bangalore. open access

Working Papers/Reports/Policy Briefs

  1. Durand-Delacre D et al. 2023. Integrating Planned Relocation in National Climate Action: Five key insights for consideration by governments and policymakers. United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security.
  2. IPCC, 2023: Summary for Policymakers. Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
  3. UNEP 2022. Adaptation Gap Report 2022: Too Little, Too Slow–Climate adaptation failure puts world at risk.
  4. IPCC, 2022: Summary for Policymakers [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, et al. (eds.)]. In: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
  5. Pörtner, H-O et al. 2022: Technical Summary. [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, et al. (eds.)]. In: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
  6. Shaw, R et al. 2022: Asia. In: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC.
  7. Patil S et al. 2023. Sowing Sustainable Cities: Lessons for Urban Agriculture Practices in India. Indian Institute for Human Settlements.
  8. Let D et al. 2022. Feasibility of Climate Technology Options across System Transitions in The Climate Technology Progress Report, pp 14-22. United Nations Environment Programme Copenhagen Climate Centre (UNEP-CCC) and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Technology Executive Committee (TEC), Copenhagen, Denmark.
  9. ICSM CHC White Paper III: The role of cultural and natural heritage for climate action. Discussion Paper. ICOMOS & ISCM CHC, Charenton-le-Pont, France & Paris, France, 91p. ISBN 978-2-918086-73-4.
  10. Singh C, Tebboth M, Aravind J, Udupa Y (2021). Representing disasters and long-term recovery: Insights from Tamil Nadu. Bangalore, IIHS and UEA.
  11. Batra P, Revi A, Bazaz A, Singh C and Poonacha P (2021). Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures: India Background Paper. Bristol, TESF and IIHS
  12. Bazaz et al. 2019. Summary for Urban Policymakers: What the IPCC Special Report on 1.5°C Means for Cities.
  13. Few R, Singh C, et al. 2019. When adaptation barriers and enablers intersect: Key considerations for adaptation planning drawn from ASSAR’s findings. ASSAR, South Africa.[Link]
  14. IPCC (2018). Summary for Policymakers. In: Global warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C [V. Masson-Delmotte (eds.)].
  15. de Coninck, H. et al. (2018). Chapter 4: Strengthening and implementing the global response. In: Global warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C [V. Masson-Delmotte (eds.)].
  16. Davies J, Singh C, Tebboth M, Spear D, Mensah A, Ansah P (2018) Conducting Life History Interviews: A How-to Guide. ASSAR, South Africa.
  17. Hegde G, Singh C, Kaur H (2018) Adaptation as Innovation – lessons from smallholder farmers in rainfed Karnataka ASSAR, South Africa.
  18. Jain G, Singh C, Coehlo K, and Malladi T (2017) Long-term implications of humanitarian responses: The case of Chennai. IIED Working Paper, London UK.
  19. Jain, G, Singh C and Malladi T (2017) Rethinking Post-disaster Relocation in Urban India. IIED Policy Brief, London UK.
  20. Basu R and Singh, C (2017). Governing water across scales: The Karnataka experience in ASSAR Spotlight on Water. ASSAR, South Africa.
  21. Singh C, Michael K and Bazaz A (2017). Barriers and enablers to climate adaptation: evidence from rural and urban areas in India. ASSAR Information Brief, ASSAR, South Africa.
  22. Michael K, Singh C and Bazaz A (2017). Dimensions of Vulnerability in Rural and Urban Areas: A case of migrants in Karnataka. ASSAR Information Brief, ASSAR, South Africa.
  23. Singh C, Basu, R and Srinivas, A (2016). Livelihood vulnerability and adaptation in Kolar District, Karnataka, India: Mapping risks and responses. ASSAR Short Report, ASSAR, South Africa.
  24. Singh C, Gajjar Pahwa S, Deshpande T (2016). Policies, Projects and People: Exploring the Adaptation-development Spectrum in India. CARIAA-ASSAR Working Paper #2. International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada and UK Aid, London, United Kingdom.
  25. Singh C, Unqhart P, Kituyi E. (2016) From pilots to systems: barriers and enablers to scaling up the use of climate information services in smallholder farming communities. CARIAA Working Paper #3. Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia, IDRC, Ottawa, Canada.
  26. Singh C, Bendapudi R, Deshpande T, Solomon D. (2015). The Adaptation Development Spectrum in Revi, A. et al. (eds.). Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in semi-arid areas in India. ASSAR Working Paper, ASSAR PMU, South Africa. pp. 82-115.
  27. Basu S, Singh C, Bhattacharjee A, and Aziz N (2009). Environmental Threats in Cold Deserts – Challenges and the Way Ahead Backgrounder for a Consultative Workshop. Pragya, Gurgaon
  28. Basu S, Singh C, Bhattacharjee A, and Aziz N (2009). The Silent Crisis in Himalayan Cold Deserts – A Study on Droughts and Desertification. Pragya, Gurgaon.
  29. Basu S, Singh C, Bhattacharjee A, and Aziz N (2009). Environmental Volatility in Himalayan Cold Deserts – A Study on Rapid Onset Disasters. Pragya, Gurgaon. 

Theses

  1. Singh C (2014). Understanding water scarcity and climate variability: a study of farmer vulnerability and response strategies in northwest India. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of Reading, United Kingdom. [Link]
  2. Singh C (2008). India’s Ecological Footprint in Latin American Countries – Emerging Approaches in the Soybean Sector. Unpublished Masters Dissertation, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI University), New Delhi, India.