Impact of Climate Change on Indian Agriculture: A Review

Abstract

During the recent decade, with the growing recognition of the possibility of climate change and clear evidence of observed changes in climate during 20 th century, an increasing emphasis on food security and its regional impacts has come to forefront of the scientific community. In recent times, the crop simulation models have been used extensively to study the impact of climate change on agricultural production and food security. The output provided by the simulation models can be used to make appropriate crop management decisions and to provide farmers and others with alternative options for their farming system. It is expected that in the coming decades with the increased use of computers, the use of simulation models by farmers and professionals as well as policy and decision makers will increase. In India, substantial work has been done in last decade aimed at understanding the nature and magnitude of change in yield of different crops due to projected climate change. This paper presents an overview of the state of the knowledge of possible effect of the climate variability and change on food grain production in India.

Holocene evolution of summer winds and marine productivity in the tropical Indian Ocean in response to insolation forcing: data-model comparison

“…The northern tropical Indian Ocean and the surrounding lands are the location of a strong monsoon system, which has a profound impact on the socio-economy of one of the most densely populated areas of the world (Saha et al, 1979;Mooley et al, 1981;Mall et al, 2006). During the southwest (summer) monsoon, warm, moist air prevails, and a strong southwesterly wind jet runs diagonally across the Arabian Sea ( Fig.…”

Quantifying, Projecting, and Addressing India's Hidden Hunger

“…These factors are then used to model future yields under temperature and greenhouse gas thresholds. This study assumes crop-specific average percentage yield changes based on the range of studies reported in the meta-analysis review of Mall et al (2006). Such studies comprise of a combination of field-based observations and future climate modeling scenario results.…”

Climatic risks and impacts in South Asia: extremes of water scarcity and excess

“…Observations indicate the agricultural sector´s vulnerability to changes in monsoon precipitation: with a 19-percent decline in summer monsoon rainfall in 2002, Indian food grain production was reduced by 10-15 percent compared to the previous decadal average (Mall et al 2006). Without adequate water storage facilities, the potential increase of peak monsoon river flow would not be usable for agricultural productivity; increased peak flow may also cause damage to farmland due to river flooding (Gornall et al 2010).…”