Author(s):

Pardeep Singh, Manoj K Vaidya and Kanchan Pathania

Abstract: Agriculture is plausibly the most important sector of the economy that is highly dependent on climate. Climate change has been causing wide range of effects in agriculture directly or indirectly which is reflected by a low growth rate for a long time. Climate system warming is now undeniable, as is evident from increasing global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global sea levels. This body of research addresses possible physical effects of climatic change on agriculture, such as changes in crop and livestock yields, as well as the economic consequences of these potential yield changes. This paper reviews the extant literature on these physical and economic effects and interprets this research in terms of common themes or findings of particular interest concerning the role of human adaptations in responding to climate change, possible regional impacts to agricultural systems and potential changes in patterns of food production and prices. Impacts on regional and local food supplies in some low latitude regions could amount to large percentage changes in current production. The adverse effect of such phenomenal global warming has already manifested itself in the form of increasing sea levels, growing extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall and drought, disturbed regional precipitation patterns, declining snowfall events, falling cold days and nights, melting glaciers. Finally, some speculations regarding issues of potential importance in interpreting and using information on climate change and agriculture are presented.

Pages: 19-27  |  1141 Views  373 Downloads

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