Climate change in India has not only affected humans or animals but also crops. India's rice and wheat production is expected to decline by 6-10 percent due to climate change, which could affect millions of people. People who are getting rice and wheat at cheap rates now will not get it in the future. Apart from this, the sea water is getting warmer, due to which the fishes are moving towards the cold water of the sea. This will also increase the crisis on the livelihood of fishermen.
India's wheat production was projected to reach 113.29 million tonnes in the 2023-24 crop year, about 14 percent of global production, while rice harvest was more than 137 million tonnes. Rice and wheat are the staple food for the total population of the country, 80 percent of whom are dependent on subsidized food grains through various government schemes. In such a situation, if there is a decrease in the yield of crops, then new problems may arise for the common people.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra said, climate change will reduce the production of wheat and rice by 6 to 10 percent, which will have a significant impact on the country's farmers and food security. He said that due to global warming, The frequency and intensity of western disturbances, which cause winter rain and snowfall in north-western India, are also decreasing. Mahapatra said, a study shows that due to climate change, the time taken to forecast heavy rainfall may reduce from three days to one and a half days.
M. Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, further said that this may cause serious water crisis in the near future for crores of people living in the Himalayas and the plains below it. According to the National Institute of Innovation in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), wheat production in India is projected to decline by 6-25 percent by the year 2100. At the same time, rice production is likely to decrease by seven percent by 2050 and by 10 percent by 2080. Due to increasing instability in the atmosphere due to climate change, it is becoming difficult to make accurate weather predictions. Now many extreme weather events are happening simultaneously in small areas in a short period of time.
Government data shows that almost half the population in India is dependent on agriculture and more than 80 percent of the farmers are small and marginal farmers, who have less than two hectares of land. Ravichandran said that due to rising sea temperatures, fishing activities near the coast are decreasing. He said, like humans, fish also like cold water. As ocean temperatures are rising, fish are moving away from the coast towards cooler waters. This is creating major problems for the fishing community and affecting their livelihood.
