Climate change and women in South Asia: a review and future policy implications Sangram Kishor Patel Population Council, New Delhi, India Gopal Agrawal Directorate of Census Operations, Bhopal, India Bincy Mathew Population Council, New Delhi, India Sunita Patel Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, India Biswajit Mohanty Population Council, New Delhi, India, and Abhishek Singh National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, India Abstract Purpose – South Asian region is a focal point owing to its vulnerabilities to climate-sensitive diseases, dependence on climate-sensitive livelihoods, projected levels of crop decline in the region, and high rates of poverty and malnutrition. Women are particularly vulnerable to climate change and this affects women disproportionately during different extreme events. The purpose of this paper is to understand the issue of climate change and its impact, and climate resilience among women in South Asia. Further, it also identifies the gaps and suggests future policy implications. Design/methodology/approach – Climate change is increasingly being recognised as an alarming issue and the present review is important when South Asian countries are facing the brunt of climate change impacts. This paper tries to understand the issue by review of the literature and conceptual framework methodology. To understand women’s vulnerability due to climate change and its aftermath, the authors conducted both offline and online desk reviews for this study. Findings – The findings of this study show a clear linkage between climate change and women’s vulnerabilities in South Asia. Climate change has significant socio-economic impacts on women, and it affects them disproportionately in various domains of agriculture, livelihood, food security, both physical and mental health, water and sanitation in the South Asia region. Practical implications – The paper also highlights that the programmes that aim at combating the effects of climate change require a gender-sensitive approach so that climate change does not obstruct the development and reduction of poverty in the region. Social implications – The findings of this paper will add value in helping families to come out of poverty by undertaking adaptive measures with proactive assistance from the government and grassroots level organisations. Originality/value – The present study also advocates for more gender- and climate-sensitive measures from governments, and implementation of intervention- and evidence-based research in the South Asian countries. Keywords Women, Resilience, Climate change, South Asia, Extreme events Paper type Literature review 1. Background Climate change is a serious cause of concern in our time, owing to the catastrophic impact of natural hazards on the lives of people, destruction of the environment and devastation of the economy. Climate change is expected to amplify disaster risk by leading to an increase in the frequency, intensity and duration of natural hazards, intensifying vulnerability and exposure (IPCC, 2012). Climate change is a global challenge that burdens the whole humanity World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development Vol. 17 No. 2, 2020 pp. 145-166 © Emerald Publishing Limited 2042-5945 DOI 10.1108/WJSTSD-10-2018-0059 Received 11 October 2018 Revised 21 May 2019 Accepted 24 June 2019 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-5945.htm 145 Climate change and women in South Asia