Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture in India

The climate is rapidly changing in ways that cannot be accounted for by natural variability. In fact, the last decade has been recorded as the warmest one. Global mean temperatures have risen to the point where they have started adversely affecting a lot of things including water resources, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and human settlements and much more. And out of all the socio-economic sectors hit by these changes, agriculture is definitely the most affected one. The simple reason behind this is that climate and agriculture are interrelated processes. Climate is one of the most important determinants of crop productivity, especially in a country like India where approximately 65% of the agricultural land is rainfed. The country’s overall agricultural landscape is being adversely affected, directly and indirectly.

Let’s have a closer look at the impact of climate change on agriculture in India:

Crops

A higher frequency of extreme wea