Called 'Climate Change in the Indian Mind', the study conducted interviews with 4,031 Indian adults, both rural and urban, to find out their responses, awareness, behaviour and approach to climate change.

When first asked about it, only 7 per cent said they knew "a lot" about global warming, while 41 per cent said they "did not know" or had "never heard of it". However, when explained in detail, about 72 per cent said they believed it was happening. A majority were also keen to look for solutions.

However, among the most striking things about the study, according to Prof Anthony Leiserowitz — head of Yale University-based Yale Project on Climate Change Communication — was the receptivity of Indians to science and solutions offered by it to ill-effects of climate change.

While awareness of the idea of climate change as understood internationally was lower in India than in the US, he told The Indian Express, "there is a small, but powerful minority of the public in the US that doubts or dismisses the reality or threat of climate change. By contrast, of those Indians that have heard of the issue, relatively few question the science".

Scientists, in fact, were the most trusted sources of information on global warming, with about 73 per cent reposing their faith in them, followed by the news media (69 per cent). About half of the respondents placed their trust in government or religious leaders.

About 61 per cent of those interviewed felt global warming affected them personally, and that steps should be taken to counteract it. About 67 per cent felt it would harm future generations by impacting on plant and animal species, while 62 per cent felt people in India would be affected by this in the future. Those who felt their own families would be affected if global warming wasn't checked numbered around 57 per cent. A significant 43 per cent felt it would be harmful in the next 10 years for Indians generally.