Maharashtra is the third largest state and the second most populous state of the country. The capital city of Maharashtra, Mumbai is the commercial capital of the country. It is one of the most industrialized states of the country contributing about 13% of national industrial output. Although, the state is highly industrialized, agriculture continues to be the main occupation employing over 64.14% of the people. High dependency on climate sensitive sectors like agriculture, and a long coastline of over 840km make the state vulnerable to the impacts of climate change including changes in temperature, precipitation pattern, increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme events including droughts, floods, cyclones, storm surges, heat wave occurrence etc. Each of these predicted changes has adverse implications for Maharashtra's agriculture, water resources, forestry and disaster management strategies.

In this context, the proposed study on "Assessing climate change vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies for Maharashtra" seems opportune wherein the study will seek to assess changes in the climate at regional scales, carry out impact assessments for various sectors including agriculture, water and health, develop vulnerability indices and suggest adaptation strategies. Six case studies have also been proposed to develop district level action plans. The potential for replication of these plans at larger representative scales will be investigated.