Rising temperatures threaten farm output

Hyderabad: Temperatures will go up and the productivity of farmlands will come down in future. This could lead to a food crisis, warned the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) fifth assessment report.

With increasing temperatures IPCC has also cautioned that in the rice bowls of South India heat stress on the rice crop is already approaching critical levels. The report warned that the winter yield of some crops will go down drastically in the Hyderabad region and in the Gangetic plains.

The IPCC also warned of the anomalies in the SW monsoon that has already been confirmed. Scientists have already recorded a temperature rise of around 0.7 degrees Celsius in the country over the last century.

This jump could prove lethal for rice as the rise is limited to a few months. In South India, the rice crop is said to be vulnerable in April and August. This could mean lower yields.

The report also said that the winter yield of sorghum in the Hyderabad region would drop. Yields are expected to go down by up to 7 per cent by 2020, 11 per cent by 2050 and 32 per cent by 2080.

The wheat output in north India also could fall. The report said that 39 per cent of the forests in India could change in coming decades.

Experts from all disciplines have already voiced concerns about the changes in southwest monsoon patterns. The IPCC report has strengthened this concern and said that heavy rainfall events during southwest monsoon are increasing at the expense of light rain.