By: Taha Ali
At a breathtaking pace, climate change is reshaping battlefield environments, becoming a threat multiplier that we need to center on in military strategic thinking. India is a land of environmental variability; bordered by glaciated mountains, deserts, and monsoon-fed plains that is already lurking in their face is the consequential environment encountered in the Anthropocene directly related to land warfare. The increased Himalayan glacial melting, accelerating desertification of the Thar, and the lethal concoction of heat-ravaged land and flooding of central and eastern India are threatening to become not far-off futurist writing scenarios, but instead are already impeding deployment cycles, movement, logistics, and sustainability of forward operations. In thinking about the future of the military in a climate-affected context, India’s military will have to consider the strategic frame long term and bring an overall understand of ecological constraints into thinking about national security analysis and operational axioms. The Anthropocene lens applied to conflict analysis is not episodic reversal, it is a change of structure one that requires militaries to rethink not just how they undertake combat but perhaps where, when, and with what costs.
Himalayan Retreat and Desert Advance: Terrain-Driven Disruptions
The Himalayan-dominated north border is India’s most strategic military region, but it is also one of the most environmentally sensitive. Thawing glaciers due to a rise in temperatures are causing unseasonal flows of water, flash floods, and landslides in areas like Ladakh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. In Ladakh, soldiers stationed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have had to deal with roads swept away by glacial lake outbursts and monsoon rains that cause landslides. In 2025, the Chaten landslide in Sikkim destroyed an army outpost and showed just how much intensity in the monsoons and fragility of terrain now vitally erode military preparedness. Repair work in its wake took weeks both because of the logistical challenges as well as continuing inclement weather.
This environmental unpredictability is compelling a reimagining of the maintenance of forward deployments. Lines of logistics are becoming more fragile—convoys are abandoned, bridges get washed out, and airstrips experience weather-related disruptions. The traditional seasonal war-fighting logic of winter fighting and summer preparation is being reversed by climatic aberrations. Monsoons are lasting longer and falling more unpredictably, with winters growing milder in some regions, upsetting scheduled windows for operation and maintenance. In some industries, this unpredictability actually cripples the rotation schedule of troops, adding to physical and psychological fatigue. At the same time, in India’s western deserts of Rajasthan, it is the reverse: creeping aridity. Although periodic monsoon greening created an illusory appearance of fertility, satellite imagery and ecological surveys affirm that the Thar Desert is growing, advanced by soil erosion and dune movement. The outcome is accelerating water shortage, record summer temperatures in excess of 50°C, and frequent sandstorms that clog machinery and drain troop reserves. Patrols along the India-Pakistan frontier become increasingly hemmed in by these circumstances, with diesel convoys carrying water and fuel becoming more vulnerable and more essential than ever. If the desert becomes more fluid, with roads and outposts being engulfed by dunes, then India will be compelled to rethink how it can project a viable presence in this unruly and growing area. Already, remote sensor and drone surveillance are becoming a replacement for round-the-clock manned presence in some sections, a trend set to gain momentum in the years to come.
Climate Pressure on Logistics, Doctrine, and Technology
From the Indo-Gangetic plains to the northeastern floodplains, climate change brings a two-edged crisis: intense heat and severe precipitation. In Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam, prolonged stretches of dry, oppressive heat are followed by deluges that overwhelm civilian and military infrastructure. In 2024, the Northeast experienced several deadly landslides and floods that displaced thousands, bringing both humanitarian relief and military logistics to a standstill. Severe weather is as much a constraint in Indian defense planning as terrain or hostile fire. Military bases along flood-prone locations like Tezpur and Guwahati are spending on flood protection mechanisms, but these are still reactionary rather than anticipatory adjustments. This renders mobility and logistics the weakest links in India’s strategic chain. Road and rail networks critical for resupply can be knocked out or made useless for weeks. Heatwaves impair machines, lower the endurance of troops, and present lethal health threats. These stresses require innovation: the Army will have to transition to more autonomous logistics (unmanned resupply vehicles and air drones), spend on climate-resilient infrastructure, and build module-based, energy-independent forward posts with solar and wind power. Positively, the Indian Army has already started employing solar panels in certain outposts on the border and the Air Force has experimented with biofuels in transport planes. These are encouraging moves towards less reliance on fossil fuel convoys, not only vulnerable to attack but ever less viable in a hotter planet. Other technologies like mobile desalination plants, water-from-air machines, and hybrid-power battle vehicles could increase operational independence.
Tactics and training need to adapt as well. Heat acclimatization and flood response training should be fundamental competencies in every unit. Heavy armor divisions might be forced to rethink their role in marshy terrain or soft desert conditions, while lighter and more agile units supported by airlifts will prove invaluable. In addition, the Armed Forces need to establish institutionalizing climate risk into strategic thought. The Land Warfare Doctrine (2018) and Joint Doctrine (2017) mention environmental factors cursorily at best. A doctrinal revision must acknowledge that environmental degradation is central, not peripheral it dictates when and where soldiers can engage, how long they can remain supported, and what equipment they will require to survive. A new “Green Doctrine,” combining sustainability, resilience, and agility into planning constructs, could inform this transformation.
Conclusion
Climate change, as part of a planetary emergency unfolding at a rapidly increasing rate, has altered the battlefield almost instantaneously, is now becoming a threat multiplier and is what we need to concentrate on in military strategic thinking. India as an eco-strategic space surrounded by glaciated mountains, deserts, and monsoon-fed plains that are being increasingly scrutinized both by military planners and climate scientists alike, already has a consequential environment encountered in the Anthropocene in relation to land warfare. The increasing glacial melt in the Himalayas, desertification of the Thar, and lethal combination of heat-cursed land and flooding in central and eastern India have already begun to reach the point where they may no longer be futuristic writing scenarios, but instead already present severe limitations on deployments cycles, movement, logistics, and sustainability of forward operations. In considering a future for (Indian) military forces in a climate-affected context, military planners will ideally have to consider the longer term strategic frame and build in a more complete recognition of ecological constraints to the overarching national security analysis and operational axioms. The Anthropocene lens applied to conflict analysis is not an episodic change, but a structural change, a new structure that requires militaries to rethink not just how they conduct combat, but maybe where,
Additionally, India also must engage with its regional partners including Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh—to address shared environmental security risks that cross borders. Sharing hydrological data, disaster response coordination, and environmental intelligence will be essential for creating a stable military ecosystem in South Asia. If the Armed Forces can adapt to grapple with climate change the approach will ensure operational readiness while enhancing national security in its broadest definition. In the Anthropocene, adaptability is not just about tactics but it is also about strategy as the next battle space will be created not just by adversaries, but by a planet whose environment is changing rapidly.
