Anoop Khajuria
Northern India has witnessed warmer winters this year. It is a matter of concern over the fluctuating weather patterns going up and down, reaching moderate and extreme levels during summers and as well as in winters. These extreme levels of temperatures and moistures are the result of climate change which is posing a serious threat to crop productivity. It is the high time that all the stakeholders whether Indian Council of agriculture research (ICAR) and its various departments, State and Central Agriculture Universities, State Agriculture departments and Krishi Vigyan Kendra(KVK) should put constant efforts to combat the weather related challenges through the development of climate resilient plant varieties and technologies. Time is ripe to adopt climate smart agriculture and scientists and farmers are required to be climate alert. Information and dissemination of information, early warnings, and reading the weather patterns early is key to smart agriculture. Broadcasters and print media need to make their weather bulletin robust and easy to understand by the end users.
This year also, the rabi crops of cereals and fruits have been impacted due to warmer winters. The apple orchids of Himachal Pradesh begin flowering in the month of January itself. It continues with the previous year’s patterns when apple tree flowering set in the month of february in the year 2022. Again winter advanced in 2023 and 2024.
A glance at the IMD portal of Kashmir valley indicates the same warming patterns . In January and February months, the valley has recorded 88 percent of deficit rainfall. This has resulted in the harsh winter period. Experts have also flagged a serious crisis impending due to shortage of water if the trends continue. Already, the rapid melting of the glaciers in the upper western Himalayas is threatening the water supply to the river networks of the valley.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has declared 2024, the warmest year ever and predictions for the current year are that it may surpass the records of the previous year.
All indicators and the scientific studies point to a warming planet which is slowly and steadily concurring with the predictions and inferences.
And therefore, climate smart agriculture should be brought immediately on the ground as a rule and all the stakeholders should realise that under the prevailing circumstances, we are reeling under a climate hotspot and agriculture can get a severe impact. The scientific data tells the tale.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) had released its last installment of the 6th Assessment Report (AR6) in 2023 which has scientifically proved that the warming spree will continue unabated. This report highlights about ten inferences which is the result of the intense scientific studies carried by three working groups acting on the different aspects of climate change.
The report categorically states that the Human induced global warming of 1.1 degree Celsius ( the study carried out in the year 2023, but WMO has recently declared that this mean temperature above the preindustrial levels is hovering around 1.5 degree C) has spurred changes to the earth’s climate that are unprecedented in recent human history.
It further states that climate impacts on the people and ecosystems are more widespread and severe than expected and future temperature rise will escalate rapidly with every fraction of a degree of warming. And the impacts are startling at the mean temperature rise of 1.5 degree C (2.7 degree F)
Biodiversity loss is going to hit hard. 14 percent of the species are at the high risk of extinction across forest and land. Dryland and the drought may affect about 1.5 billion people due to the water stress and desertification.
The food security costs for adaptations and residual damage to major crops will be around 63 billion USD.
Fires will increase destroying land masses and the forests. For example the burnt area across Mediterranean Europe has been estimated around 40-54 percent.
Extreme heat is another element that we are witnessing in India as a recurrence every year adding on to the number of days of intense heat by 2-4 times. Sea level rise and floods, one invading our land slowly but surely and other is so sudden and fierce that it is already impacting people across the world.
This data is in the Public domain for the countries to study and take climate action. But let me come to my premise. The impacts are loud and visible in India. The Prime Minister had released 109 climate resistance varieties of cereals and fruit plants last year. India has further announced the establishment of a second gene bank comprising a million germplasm lines in the Union Budget 2025. The bank will be set up for the future food and nutritional security and provide conservation support to both public and private sectors for genetic resources.
It is the time to take firm and effective steps for climate conservation and thereby protecting food security. I would only reiterate that in spite of all the efforts by the Union Government through its Nationally determined contributions (NDC’s), efforts of the organisations like ICAR & the Universities, the state agriculture departments, and the Krishi Vikas Kendra, we need to bridge the fault lines and the gaps that hampers the last mile connectivity on the early warnings and disaster preparedness. . The lab has all the knowledge and research but it is not percolating on the land as it should have been, given to the spells of dryness and cycle of warming days.
( The author is a filmmaker & Member, Asia Pacific group of Journalists & Broadcasters on climate change issues)
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