Cumulative CO₂ emissions from coal in India
India: Cumulative CO₂ emissions from coal was 42.71 billion tonnes in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Cumulative CO₂ emissions from coal in India, 1858–2024
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
India recorded 42.71 billion tonnes for cumulative co₂ emissions from coal in 2024. That is the highest value across all 156 years on record.
The figure is up 5.2% on the previous year and up 67.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cumulative co₂ emissions from coal in India peaked at 42.71 billion tonnes in 2024 and was at its lowest, 394,481 tonnes, in 1858.
That places India 6th out of 179 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 712,720 tonnes | 394,481 tonnes | 1.03 million tonnes | 2 |
| 1860s | 3.34 million tonnes | 1.67 million tonnes | 5.12 million tonnes | 7 |
| 1870s | 7.69 million tonnes | 6.88 million tonnes | 8.49 million tonnes | 2 |
| 1880s | 20.32 million tonnes | 10.27 million tonnes | 32.46 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1890s | 59.86 million tonnes | 36.23 million tonnes | 90.91 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1900s | 166.44 million tonnes | 101.56 million tonnes | 247.31 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1910s | 393.25 million tonnes | 268.29 million tonnes | 539.97 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1920s | 730.36 million tonnes | 571.25 million tonnes | 900.53 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1930s | 1.11 billion tonnes | 941.98 million tonnes | 1.31 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.58 billion tonnes | 1.36 billion tonnes | 1.81 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1950s | 2.14 billion tonnes | 1.86 billion tonnes | 2.45 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1960s | 3.03 billion tonnes | 2.54 billion tonnes | 3.55 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.34 billion tonnes | 3.68 billion tonnes | 5.09 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.36 billion tonnes | 5.28 billion tonnes | 7.65 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.03 billion tonnes | 8.01 billion tonnes | 12.29 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.91 billion tonnes | 12.87 billion tonnes | 19.58 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.55 billion tonnes | 20.59 billion tonnes | 33.39 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 38.71 billion tonnes | 34.95 billion tonnes | 42.71 billion tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near India
More climate change data for India
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 14.8% (2100)
- Population growth 0.9% (2025)
- Population, total 1.46 billion (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.8% (2025)
- Urban population 522.44 million (2025)
- Urban population 35.7% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 2.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 66.07 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 2.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 2.2 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cumulative co₂ emissions from coal in India?
- Cumulative co₂ emissions from coal in India was 42.71 billion tonnes in 2024, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest cumulative co₂ emissions from coal recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 42.71 billion tonnes in 2024.
- What is the lowest cumulative co₂ emissions from coal recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 394,481 tonnes in 1858.
- How does India rank for cumulative co₂ emissions from coal?
- India ranks 6th out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cumulative co₂ emissions from coal rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 67.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Cumulative CO₂ emissions from coal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 156 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from coal since the first year of available data, measured in tonnes.