eChapters

Small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton), popularly known as the “Queen of spices”, occupies an important position among the foreign exchange earning commodities. Cardamom is cultivated on a commercial scale in Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Tanzania and Papua New Guinea. Guatemala is the largest producer of cardamom in the World. In India, it is confined to the States of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, accounting for an area of 41588 ha, 25021 ha and 4561 ha, respectively (Spices Board, 2009). Among these States, Kerala accounts for the major portion of production (58.4 %), followed by Karnataka (35.2 %) and Tamil Nadu (6.4 %). In Kerala, Cardamom is mainly grown in the erstwhile Travancore area in the present Idukki district and it is known as the Cardamom Hill Reserve (CHR), which was specially reserved, denotified and removed from the control of forest development by the orders of the Travancore Government. By a Royal Proclamation in Medam 997(ME) 334 square miles (86,506 ha) area in Devikulam, Udumbanchola and Peermedu taluks of the present Idukki District was declared as CHR for the promotion of cardamom cultivation (Miniraj and Nybe, 2007). Cardamom is a native of the moist evergreen rain forests of the Western Ghats of South India and is grown extensively in the hilly regions at elevations of 700 to 1300 metres as an under crop in forest lands. Cardamom thrives well within certain thermal regimes. It is believed that diurnal symmetries in temperature trends, if any, have close links with the changes in cloudiness, humidity, atmospheric circulation pattern, winds and soil moisture (Kumar et al., 2002).

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a very important horticultural crop which fetches considerable foreign exchange to India. The crop is a native of Brazil and was introduced in India by the Portuguese during 16^th Century. It is grown in India, Brazil, Vietnam, Tanzania, Mozambique, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other tropical Asian and African countries. The crop is grown within the latitudinal belt of 27°N and 28°S of the equator experiencing a tropical temperature for its growth and development (Rao and Gopakumar, 1994). The trend in productivity has a phenomenal bearing to the distance from the equator. The world production of cashew is estimated to be around 20.8 lakh tonnes. The global productivity level of cashew is 690 kg/ha. Since 2000, the world raw cashewnut production registered an increase of 40 per cent. India’s share in the world raw cashewnut production accounts to about 25 per cent. In recent times, India is facing tight competition from Vietnam and Indonesia in international cashew trade. Since its introduction in the Country, cashew has well adapted to the Indian climatic conditions and is grown in the East and West Coasts of India. Now, India is the largest producer, processor, consumer and exporter of cashew in the world (Bhat, 2009 a). In India, cashew is grown mainly in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala along the West Coast and Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal along the East Coast.

The Coconut palm, also known as the Cocos Nucifera L., is one of the most fascinating and beautiful palms in the world. Epigraphical, literary and sculptural evidence provide proof that coconut has served humanity for more than three millennia. The palm is looked upon with reverence and affection and is referred to by such eulogistic epithets as “Kalpavriksha”, tree of heaven, the tree of abundance, nature’s super market, king of palms and the tree of life. The coconut is believed to have originated in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines) or Micronesia (Harries, 1977; Purseglove, 1968 and 1972). Coconut has been cultivated in India since ages and plays an important role in social, economic and cultural activities of the people. The palm is amenable to both plantation and homestead management and it can be either a major crop or a minor one in a homestead garden of mixed crops. While responding favourably to scientific management, the palm also tolerates negligent farming to a certain extent. Thus, it can adapt to the divergent farming situations and management practices that are prevalent in different agro-climatic regions. The coconut palm is usually found near the sea on sandy beaches where it can tolerate salt spray and brackish soils. It is also grown under different soil types such as loamy, laterite, coastal sandy, alluvial, clayey and reclaimed soils of the marshy low lands. The ideal soil conditions for better growth and performance of the palm are proper drainage, good water-holding capacity, and presence of water table within three metres and absence of rock or any hard substratum within two meters of the surface. The coconut palm can also grow well inland, within altitudinal limit of 600 m to 1752 m in the Tropics. It requires an equatorial climate with high humidity. A year-round warm and humid climate favours the growth of coconut. The ideal mean annual temperature, which can be tolerated by coconut palm, is around 27ºC with 5–7ºC diurnal variation. The palm does not withstand prolonged spells of extreme weather/climate variations under rainfed conditions. A well-distributed rainfall of 1300–2300 mm per annum is preferred. It is known as a coastal tree since it is grown along the Coasts and Islands and does not tolerate high temperature range, that is the difference between the maximum and minimum temperatures.

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. (https://www.un.org/ en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change) While it is possible to achieve enhanced food production to meet the demands of growing populations, the prevailing negative environmental trends, if continued, might cause crises in many parts of the world (Molden, 2007). The effects of climate change on agriculture can take place through changes in average temperatures, rainfall, and climate extremes (e.g., heat waves); changes in pests and diseases; changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and ground-level ozone concentrations; changes in the nutritional quality of some foods; and changes in sea level. (Anonymous, 2014A)

Abstract

Tripura is expected to be highly prone to the consequences to climate change because of its geo-ecological fragility, strategic location, its trans-boundary river basins and its inherent socio-economic instabilities.  Environmental security and sustainability of the state is and will be greatly challenged by the impacts of climate change in coming years.
Climate and weather can substantially influence the development and distribution of insects.

Introduction

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment reports (IPCC, 2007) suggests that consequently occurring climate extremes are likely to increase the frequency and intensity in the future. In the Indian context, events such as landfall of rare of rarest most intense pre-monsoon Tropical cyclone Fani (2019), back to back landfall of very intense tropical cyclones such as Phalini (2013) and Hudbud (2014), Cyclone Komen (2015), Extreme rainfall events of Kerala (2018 and 2019), Heavy rainfall events of over Northeastern states of India (2019), Cloud burst events of Uttarakhand (2013), Rainfall over Himachal Pradesh (2019), Mumbai Rain fall (2015) and extreme heat wave conditions of 1998, 2015 and many similar type of extreme events are not usual. However, at present there is no unanimity among scientists to exclusively and directly link such extreme weather events to climate change, however based on number of studies and observation data sets it is agreed that the impact of climate change is evident (beyond the natural variability) in many part of the globe including India. In 2019 monsoon season at least 1351 deaths happened to ?oods, heavy rainfall and landslides compared to 1550 for year 2018. In this manuscript, recent research findings related to extreme weather events in the context India are discussed in the following section-2, need for high resolution and long term data sets are emphasized in section-3, followed by recommendations as part of future preparedness, that will not only enable us to address these issues in a robust scientific manner but also provide us strong resilient society to face these extreme weather events in an optimized and effective manner to minimize the loss of lives, properties and socio-economic conditions of citizens.

This chapter introduces the close relationship between climate change and forest ecosystems and examines how changing temperature, rainfall, drought, extreme weather, fires, pests, and diseases affect forest health and productivity. It discusses the importance of forests in carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, climate regulation, and ecosystem services. The chapter also examines climate-change mitigation through sustainable forest management, afforestation, reforestation, and initiatives such as REDD+. Particular attention is given to the Indian scenario, conservation policies, government initiatives, and challenges associated with forest degradation and climate change

Key Facts
    
·    The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines ‘climate change’ as a ‘Change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over the comparable time periods’.
    
·    The main green house gases (GHGs) that have caused the global climate change or global warming are carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O).
    
·    CO₂ is the principal anthropogenic GHG that affects the earth’s radiative balance. It is the reference gas against which other GHGs are measured and therefore has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 1. CH₄ and N₂O have a GWP of 21 and 310 respectively.
    
·    CO₂ is responsible for most of the enhanced green house effect of more than 50%, CH₄ for about 10-15% and N₂O for about 8%.
    
·    The global atmospheric concentrations of CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O have increased since 1750. While CO₂ increased from a pre-industrial value of 280 ppm to 379 ppm in 2005, CH₄ increased from 715 ppb to 1774 ppb and N₂O increased from 270 ppb to 319 ppb during the same period.

Summary

The main greenhouse gases (GHGs) that have caused the global climate change or global warming are carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O). CO₂ is the principal anthropogenic GHG that affects the earth’s radiative balance. It is the reference gas against which other GHGs are measured and therefore has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 1. CH₄ and N₂O have a GWP of 21 and 310, respectively. CO₂ is responsible for most of the enhanced greenhouse effect of more than 50%, CH₄ for about 10-15% and N₂O for about 8%. The global atmospheric concentrations of CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O have increased since 1750. While CO₂ increased from a pre-industrial value of 280 ppm to 379 ppm in 2005, CH₄ increased from 715 ppb to 1774 ppb and N₂O increased from 270 ppb to 319 ppb during the same period. Rich countries and large developing countries account for most of global CO₂ emissions (China 23.5%, USA 18.27%, India 5.83%, Russia 5.72%, Japan 4.04% and European Union 13.98%). A new climate agreement called ‘Warsaw International mechanisms (November 2013) on loss and damage’ agreed to help the poor countries to cope with loss and damage from heatwaves, droughts, floods, typhoons, desertification and rising sea levels. The Warsaw agreement also includes a set of decisions to help developing countries to reduce GHG emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests which is backed by pledges of US$280 million financing by the United States, Norway and the United Kingdom. Projections for global average temperature rise is in the range of 1.1-6.4°C; a doubling of CO₂ (from pre-industrial 280 ppm) and average sea level rise is in the range of 0.18-0.59 m (Meehel et al. 2007) and 0.5–2.4 m (Brown et al. 2013). Hot extremes, heat waves and heavy precipitation events will continue to become more frequent. Projected data show that there is an increasing global trend in the rise of average temperature in all countries, regions or sub-zones; a decreasing trend in average precipitation in most sub-tropical areas and an increasing trend of precipitation in most of the tropical and high latitudes.

Key Facts
    
•    The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines ‘climate change’ as a ‘Change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods’.
    
•    The main green house gases (GHG) that have caused the global climate change or global warming are carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (NO₂).
    
•    CO₂ is the principal anthropogenic greenhouse gas that affects the Earths radiative balance. It is the reference gas against which other GHGs are measured and therefore has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 1. CH₄ and N₂O have a GWP of 21 and 310 respectively.
    
•    CO₂ is responsible for most of the enhanced green house effect of more than 50%, CH4 about 10 to 15% and NO2 about 4%.
    
•    The global atmospheric concentrations of carbon-dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased since 1750, CO₂ increased from a pre-industrial value of 280 ppm to 379 ppm in 2005, CH₄ increased from 715 ppb to 1774 ppb and NO₂ increased from 270 ppb to 319 ppb in 2005.

Introduction

Global warming is a phenomenon of climate change characterized by a general increase in average temperatures of the Earth, which modifies the weather balances and ecosystems for a long time. In fact, the averages temperature of the planet has increased by 0.8° Celsius (33.4°F) compared to the end of the 19th century. Each of the last three decades has been warmer than all previous decades since the beginning of the statistical surveys in 1850. At the pace of current CO₂ emissions, scientists expect an increase of between 1.5° and 5.3°C (34.7° to 41.5°F) in average temperature by 2100 (Solarimpulse foundation, 2018). Most of the several dozens of predictive models indicate that average temperature can increase by 1.7-5.3°C, as a result of doubling CO₂ concentration within next 60-100 years. 2.3°C is a value most often mentioned what means an increase by 0.3°C a decade.

Climate change has emerged as the most pressing global challenge of the 21st century and which is one of the largest and most complex problems, the developed community has ever faced. The impacts of higher temperatures, variable precipitation, and extreme weather events have already begun to impact the economic performance of countries and the lives and livelihoods of millions of poor people. India is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. It has one of the highest densities of economic activity in the world, and very large numbers of poor people who rely on the natural resource base for their livelihoods, with a high dependence on rainfall. By 2020, pressure on India’s water, air, soil, and forests is expected to become the highest in the world.

During the last few decades, the global agricultural production has risen and technology enhancement is still contributing to yield growth. However, population growth, water crisis, deforestation and climate change threatens the global food security.

Abstract

Climate change or elements of variability is a matter of great concern production positive, negative or natural impact on pest dynamics because of the specific nature of interactions of host, the pest and the environment. New pest such as Rice Whorl maggot, Flea beetal in rice/soybean and bark eating beetle in citrus are emerging with the change in climate pattern. Pest outbreaks in epemic form such as Rice hispa and rice ear cutting caterpillar are also noted. Location specific IPM packages with an emphasis on biological control are the need of the hour considering the threat of environmental pollution. The ecosystem diversification along with the study on natural enemies, spiders and coccinellids may be brought under purview.

Introduction

Water and food security are the key challenges under climate change as both are highly vulnerable to continuously changing climatic patterns. Climate change has resulted in increases in globally averaged mean annual air temperature and variations in regional precipitation and these changes are expected to continue and intensify in the future. The projected changes in climate patterns over India include increase in surface temperature, variations in rainfall, increasing occurrence of extreme weather events like floods and droughts, rise in sea levels and impact on the Himalayan glaciers. Sectors of the Indian economy are most likely to be impacted by such changes in climate are those dependent on natural resources, namely agriculture, water and forestry. The likely impacts such as reduction in food production, water scarcity, loss of forest biomass Climate change is expected to bring more intense and more frequent extreme weather events including droughts and floods in India. The global atmospheric concentration of carbon di-oxide CO₂ for increased from preindustrial value of about 280 ppm to about 410 ppm at the present (2021). The global increase in CO₂ concentration is primarily due to fossil fuel use and land use change. Atmospheric methane was 1803 ppb in 2011, this is 150% greater than before 1750. Atmospheric nitrous oxide (N₂O) was 324 ppb in 2011, this is 150% greater than before 1750 (Table 1). These increase in GHGs have resulted in warming of the climate system by 0.74°C between 1906 and 2005.

The climate system is the highly complex system consisting of five major components; the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the land surface and the biosphere, and the interactions among them. The climate system evolves in time under the influence of its own internal dynamics and because of external forcings such as volcanic eruptions, solar variations and human-induced forcings such as the changing composition of the atmosphere and land-use.

The term ‘climate variability’ is often used to denote deviations of climatic statistics over a given period of time (e.g., a month, season or year) from the long-term statistics relating to the corresponding calendar period. In this sense, climate variability is measured by those deviations, which are usually termed anomalies.

‘Climate change’ refers to a statistically significant variation in either the mean state of the climate or in its variability, persisting for an extended period (typically decades or longer). Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcings, or due to persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. The United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines ‘climate change’ as ‘a change of climate behaviour which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods’. The UNFCCC thus makes a distinction between ‘climate change’ attributable to human activities altering the atmospheric composition, and ‘climate variability’ attributable to natural causes. Climate change is a long-term shift in weather conditions measured by changes in temperature, precipitation, wind, snow cover, and other indicators.

A key difference between climate variability and change is in persistence of ‘anomalous’ conditions. In other words, events that are used to be rare occur more frequently, or vice versa. Occasionally, an event or sequence of events occurs that has never been recorded before, such as the exceptional tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004 or hurricane season in the Atlantic in 2005. Yet even that could be a part of natural climate variability. If such a season does not recur within the next 30 years, by looking back it could be called as an exceptional year, but not a ‘climate change’. Only a persistent series of unusual events taken in the context of regional climate parameters can suggest that a potential change in climate has occurred.

Introduction

Climate change has been realised during 1840s when indisputable evidence of former ice ages was obtained. The climate has altered sufficiently in many parts of the world even within the last few decades which will affect the possibilities for agriculture and settlement. Reliable weather records have been kept only during the last hundred years or so, but proxy indicators of past conditions from tree rings, pollen in bog and lake sediments, ice core records of physical and chemical parameters, and ocean foraminifera in sediments provide a wealth of paleoclimatic data. The standard interval adopted by the World Meteorological Organization for climatic statistics is thirty years:1901–30, 1931–60, for example. However, for historical records and proxy indicators of climate, longer, arbitrary time intervals may be necessary to calculate average values. Tree rings and ice cores can give seasonal/annual records, while peat bog and ocean sediments may provide records with only 100- to 1,000-year time resolution. Hence, short-term changes and the true rates of change may, or may not, be identifiable.

The present climatic state is usually described in terms of an average value (arithmetic mean, or the median value in a frequency distribution), a measure of variation about the mean (the standard deviation, or interquartile range), the extreme values, and often the shape of the frequency distribution. A change in climate can occur in several different ways, for example, there may be a shift in the mean level, or a gradual trend in the mean values. The variability may be periodic, quasi-periodic or non-periodic, or alternatively it may show a progressive trend . First, it is important to determine whether such changes are real or whether they are an artefact of changes in instrumentation, observational practices, station location, or the surroundings of the instrumental site, or due to errors in the transcribed data. Even when changes are real, it may be difficult to ascribe them to unique causes because of the complexity of the climate system. Natural variability operates over a wide range of time scales, and superimposed on these natural variations in climate are the effects of human activities.

Abstract

Climate change is a change in the distribution of weather over periods of time that range. The effect of climate change is now visible every where including animal farm industry. Projected temperature rise around 2-5oC by 2100 due to climate change is likely estrus, start estrus and decline in reproduction efficiency of livestock species Climate change may have a significant effect on livestock and other animals through is impact on diseases Zoonotic diseases which can be transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans are a matter of great concerns. There is an urgent need for adoption of integrated approaches towards mitigation of advance effects of climate change in animal production. There are nutritional strategies to reduce enteric methane production. Surveillance and monitoring with various adaption strategies are to be brought under purvision to reduce adverse impact of climatic variability in livestock 

Introduction

In India, almost 85 % of our population resides in rural areas and the same proportion is dependent on agriculture for sustenance and animal husbandry for additional income. Distribution of livestock is more equitable compared to that of land and about 85 percent of livestock are owned by the landless, marginal and small landholding families. This sector provides employment for the farmers through livestock farming as well as in processing, value addition and marketing of livestock products.

Rapid population, economic growth, increased demand for livestock products such as meat and dairy products, in?uences the present livestock production systemtowards intensive production. There is increased con?ict over scarce resources such as land, water, food grains etc. Losing livestock assets for rural communities might lead to abject poverty with serious effect ontheir livelihoods. The climate change impact will worsen the vulnerability of livestock systems and those farmers depending on livestock, particularly the poor.

Coffee is grown at higher elevation across the Western Ghats between 750 and 1200 m amsl. It requires a certain degree of shade for its better performance. The annual rainfall over the coffee growing tracts varies between 1400 and 2600mm, having uni/bi-model rainfall with prolonged dryspell from November to May. It is more so over North of the Western Ghats. The mean annual maximum temperature varies between 24 and 30⁰C while the minimum between 15 and 18⁰C. The difference between maximum and minimum temperatures (temperature range) varies between 5 and 16⁰C across the coffee tract. The ‘Monsooned Malabar Coffee’ is a specialty coffee produced from the erstwhile ‘Malabar Region’. It undergoes certain changes in physical and biochemical characters when the coffee beans are processed during the summer monsoon (June to September). It is processed at Mangalore, located in Coastal Karnataka. The processing location experiences heavy rainfall of more than 1000 mm in July, followed by 950 mm in June and 600 mm in August. Out of 3264 mm of annual rainfall, 2852 mm is received during the monsoon period. It accounts more than 80 per cent of annual rainfall. The maximum temperature during the monsooning varies between 28 and 30°C while night temperature revolves between 22 and 24°C. Being located in the tropics along the West Coast, the crop processing environment in terms of surface air temperature is relatively uniform and moderate with a characteristic feature of heavy clouds and continuous rainfall during the monsoon period.

Rice is one of the major staple food of the world’s population. About 114 countries grow rice and more than 50 have an annual production of 100,000 tonnes or more. Asian farmers produce about 90 per cent of the total, with two countries, China and India, growing more than half of the total crop. For most rice producing countries where annual production exceeds one million tonne, rice is the staple food. In Bangaldesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmer, Thailand and Vietnam, rice provides 50–80 per cent of the total calories consumed.

2.1 Introduction

Weather has always been a popular topic but in the recent past it has received wide attention and debate as the public concern has increased about unforeseen changes in our climate. Over the 20^th century the average temperature of the earth has increased by 0.4 -0.8^oC. This increase is expected to continue and by 2100 the average global temperature is likely to be 1.4 - 5.8 ^oC warmer. One of the anticipated effects of climate change is the possible increase in both frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as heat waves, cold waves, hurricanes, floods and drought spells. The warming of the earth may fuel interactions between the ocean and atmosphere that will amplify the frequency and intensity extreme weather events. The possible changes in the frequency, distribution and intensity of extreme climate events have a significant influence at local, regional and global scales due to their multi-sectoral impacts on the overall economy.

Introduction

Climate change has been, and continues to be one of the important causes of low productivity from animal agriculture in tropical countries like India through crop failures, fodder scarcity and increased incidence of endemic animal diseases. It impacts animal agriculture and cause immediate danger for human societies as livelihoods and food production are being adversely affected. Farm ruminant animals contribute to food supply by converting low-value materials, inedible or unpalatable for human, into milk, meat, and eggs and directly contribute to nutritional security. Besides contributing over one-fourth to the agricultural GDP, it provides employment to 18 million people in principal or subsidiary status in India. Nearly two-thirds of farm households are associated with farm animal rearing and 80% of them are small landholders (≤2 ha). As a result of various socio-economic and market driven factors, during the last one decade, large scale transformation took place in both extensive and intensive animal agriculture with regards to type and breed of the animal. A lot of high yielding, low disease resistant and more vulnerable crossbreed animal population have been increased in present animal production systems inorder to meet the market demands. Climate changes could impact severely the economic viability and production of these intensive animal production systems through increased incidence of drought/?oods/cyclones/hailstorms etc. Drought and high ambient temperatures in particular, affects production of milk, meat and egg, reproduction, health of animals and condition of pastures. Changes in pasture and crop biomass availability and quality affect animal production through changes in daily or seasonal feed supplies. Heavy rains and associated ?oods would washout the fodder resources and animals. Recent incidences of severe hail storms are causing brutal injuries to the grazing animals. To mitigate the adverse affects of extreme weather events and cope with changing climate, much precised resilient technologies suitable to local conditions and resources are needed. Hence, one should be critical in recommending smart animal-agriculture technologies in view of much diversified and heterogeneous group of farmers and the resources accessible to them. This will help in sustainable productivity from animal-agriculture and profitability to the farmers even in the era of climate change.

Abstract

Increased human activities such as agriculture, mining, and manufacturing have resulted in rapid increase of green house gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. Atmospheric accumulation of the GHGs results into global warming and climate variability or change. Climate change due to enhanced greenhouse effect arising as a result of human activity is considered a major global environmental threat to mankind today. Perhaps nowhere in the globe are people more vulnerable to climate change than in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Most livelihoods in SSA are climate-sensitive due to over dependency on land and other natural resources and are thus perched on the brink of disaster due to climate change.

Climate change is now undoubtedly affecting millions of people across Africa and it actually threatens to wipe-out the past and current global efforts made to tackle poverty unless urgent and robust decisions and actions are taken. This is also a wake-up call for the world to adopt alternative development models that would ensure massive cuts in GHG emissions to avoid a potentially irreversible change. Scientists have warned that unless the global community, especially the developed countries, take genuine steps now to reduce their emissions; many more millions of people in the developing world will be negatively impacted by climate change.

Key facts

    
•    Agriculture is the major land use across the globe. Agriculture production (plant growth) is highly dependent on climate since crop growth is influenced by solar radiation, temperature and precipitation. Agriculture is also sensitive to climate variability and weather extremes (droughts, floods, severe storms).
    
•    The yields of C₃ crops (rice, wheat, and soybean) is expected to increase (10-20%) with predicted doubling of CO₂ concentrations compared to C₄ crops (maize, sorghum, millet, sugarcane) since C₃ plants respond readily/positively to increased CO₂ levels. Therefore, CO₂ enrichment may benefit temperate and humid tropical agriculture compared to semi-arid tropics.
    
•    The predicted rise of temperature could impact crop and horticulture yield if it exceeds optimal temperature range. For example, low latitudes crops are being grown near the limits of temperature tolerance and global warming may put them to higher stress.
    
•    On a world wide basis, global warming would benefit the mid to high latitude zones for agriculture (for a small change of temperature of 1-3^ºC), whereas low latitudes, semi-arid and tropical areas will have much reduced crop and livestock yields. However, adaptation measures may reduce such impacts.

Key facts

Agriculture
    
·    Agriculture production (plant growth) is highly dependent on climate since crop growth is influenced by solar radiation, temperature and precipitation and sensitive to climate variability and weather extremes (droughts, floods, severe storms).
    
·    Climate change is projected to have an effect on local agriculture and the net result could be harmful (e.g. frequent droughts, salinization of agriculture land due to sea level rise) or beneficial, (e.g. enhance CO₂ and higher yield, longer growing season, increased precipitation) or mixed.
    
·    Climate change or a doubling of GHGs (2 x CO₂) is projected to cause both gains and losses of agriculture land.
    
·    Each crop has a specific temperature range at which vegetative and reproductive growth will proceed at the optimal rate and exposures to extreme temperatures during these phases can impact growth and yield. Higher temperatures during the reproductive stage of development can affect pollen viability, fertilization and grain or fruit formation. 
    
·    Warming generally allow plants to grow faster that are below their optimum temperature, however for cereal crops faster growth means there is less time for the grain itself to grow and mature, reducing yields. 
    
·    Night-time temperatures are rising faster than daytime temperatures and are expected to continue rise in the future. According to International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, the rise of night time temperature decreases rice yield by 10% for each 1°C increase in growing-season night time temperature in the dry season.

Key Facts
        
Agricultural food
    
·    There are multiple pathways through which climate-related factors may impact food contamination and food safety, food quality, foodborne diseases including changes in temperature and precipitation patterns, increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, ocean warming and acidification and changes in the transport pathways of complex contaminants.
    
·    All or most foodborne pathogens and their associated diseases are linked to changing environmental conditions, the notable of which are campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis and vibriosis.
    
·    An estimated 30% of reported cases of salmonellosis across much of continental Europe have been attributed to warm temperatures, especially when they exceed a threshold of 6°C above average. Likewise both in Australia and Canada a positive correlation was found between increasing temperature and incidence of salmonellosis.
    
·    Zoonosis such as Rift Valley Fever (RVF), West Nile Fever, tick-borne diseases and non-zoonotic animal diseases such as Blue tongue, African horse sickness, African swine fever are examples of animal diseases whose distribution is expected to be strongly influenced by climate change and variability.
    
·    Mycotoxin is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by filamentous fungi, commonly known as moulds and may contaminate agricultural commodities (food) by growing on them both before and after harvest, whenever the humidity and temperature are permissive. The most prominent mycotoxins are aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, ochratoxin-A, fumonisin, and patulin.
    
·    The humans ingestion of mycotoxins occur through consumption of the mycotoxin contaminated plant-based foods, such as grains, maize, barley, rice, coffee, nuts and their residues, and metabolites in animal-derived foods, for example aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk and meat products. In addition, mycotoxins may occur in beer and wine.

Key facts
    
·    The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines food security as a ’situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life’. There are four dimensions of food security: Food Availability (availability of sufficient food for all people at all times, i.e. production); Food Accessibility (physical and economic access to food at all times, i.e. affordability), Food Utilization (access to food that is nutritious, safe and produced in environmentally sustainable ways, i.e. nutrients in food and food safety); and Food Stability (reliability of adequate food supply).
    
·    Agriculture is important for food security since it provides food for the people and is the primary source of livelihood for 36% of the world’s total workforce. In the heavily populated countries such as Asia and the Pacific, about 40% to 50%, and in sub-Saharan Africa, about two-thirds of the working population make their living from agriculture.
    
·    Agriculture, livestock and fisheries production are all sensitive to climate and are affected by its changes. Climate change will increase hunger and malnutrition, emergence of new pests and diseases and will threaten fishing and aquaculture industries.

Key facts

    
•    Though water is the most widely occurring substance on earth, freshwater accounts for only 2.5% whereas the rest of water is saltwater. The agriculture sector uses more than 75% of freshwater available. 
    
•    The current observed climate change impacts on water resources include increased precipitation at high latitudes and temperate areas, decreasing precipitation at low latitudes; decreasing snow covers, and glaciers in most regions; decreasing flows in some river basins; floods and droughts in some countries and significant decreases in lake and river size in Africa.
    
•    A number of climate models projected that a doubling of atmospheric concentrations of CO₂ would increase global precipitation by at least 5%.  The precipitation is expected to increase in some areas, such as, at high latitudes and in the tropics (south east monsoon regions and over the tropical Pacific), whereas the precipitation is likely to decrease in the sub-tropics (e.g. much of North Africa and northern Sahara).

Key facts

    
•    The climate change is likely to affect millions of people both directly (via increased deaths, disease and injury from heatwaves, floods, storms, fires and droughts) and indirectly (through changes in the water, air, food quality and quantity and ranges of vectors, such as mosquitoes, water-borne pathogens).
    
•    Recent observed climate change related effects include: (a) an increase in heat related deaths across the globe (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, UK and USA; (b) spread of vector- and rodent-borne diseases such as malaria (Africa, India) and dengue and (c) increase in food poisoning (New Zealand).
    
•    Heatwaves can cause adverse health effects such as heat cramps, fainting, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Human deaths due to heatwaves are associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and in 2003 in Europe 70,000 deaths were recorded from heatwaves alone.
    
•    Projections : (a) cold temperature is expected to become less frequent, while heat waves will become more frequent; (b) increases in heat related deaths and illness across the globe including Australia, Germany, Portugal, UK, and USA;  (c) malaria zone may expand in Australia, Africa (highlands), India and  260-320 million more people will be affected by malaria by 2080;  (d) dengue area is likely to increase as climate would be more suitable and by 2085, about 6 billion people will be at risk of contracting dengue fever including Australia and New Zealand; (e) diarrhoeal disease may increase with temperature increase; and (f) cholera outbreaks may rise as a result of more plankton blooms providing nutrients for Vibrio cholerae.

Summary

Biodiversity (the variety of living things) is fundamental to ecosystem structures and functions, and provide the broad spectrum of goods and services that humans derive from natural systems such as food (e.g. fish), protection from disasters such as cyclones, storms, floods (e.g. mangroves) or maintenance of water quality. Species (biodiversity) respond to climate change either staying or moving out or dying out. For example, the rise of temperature as a consequence of climate change may cause some species to (a) stay in the same environment since they can tolerate to adapt to changes; or (b) may cause some species to move out in a suitable environment (e.g. some species to move pole ward, some up in elevation) or (c) some species (fish) to go deep to increased depths in the oceans to escape heat or warming or (d) may cause some species to die out or get extinct (species with restricted distribution, longer generation time will not be able to migrate or adapt to climate change). A pattern of range shifts such as pole wards and upwards has been documented in hundreds of species of plants and animals and is one of the strongest signals of biotic changes from global warming. These shifts result from two processes: cold-edge expansion and warm-edge contraction. There is now abundant evidence for local extinctions from contractions at the warm edges of species’ ranges or warm edge contraction because the species may have already reached the limits of their climatic tolerance. Investigations conducted reveals that many terrestrial and aquatic species are shifting their geographic ranges in response to rapid changes in temperature and precipitation regimes. For example, many terrestrial organisms are currently shifting in latitude or elevation in response to changing climate. It has been estimated that plants and animals have recently shifted to higher elevations at a median rate of 11.0 m per decade, and to higher latitudes at a median rate of 16.9 km per decade.

Summary

Climate change (floods, droughts, rise of temperature and sea level) can directly impact the incidence of water related diseases through effects on water temperature and precipitation frequency and intensity. This chapter focuses on some common water quality related diseases that may enhance due to climate change such as arsenicosis, cholera, cyanobacterial toxins, dengue, diarrhoea and malaria. Arsenicosis is the disease caused by arsenic (As) contamination. As poisoning via groundwater has become a worldwide problem with 21 countries experiencing As groundwater contamination including Bangladesh, India, and China. In Bangladesh, out of 64 districts, As levels in 60 districts have exceeded WHO recommended guidelines of 10 µg/L and in 51 districts it exceeded Bangladesh recommended guidelines of above 50 µg/L. Chronic exposure to As has been linked to carcinogenic effects in both humans and animals. These include cancer of the various skins and internal organs (lung, bladder, liver and kidney) and reproductive and developmental effects; cardiovascular disease; reduced intellectual function in children and mortality. Alternate floods and droughts (due to climate change) have been found associated with the release of As and contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh, therefore may increase the risks of the disease due to rise of extreme events such as floods and droughts. Cholera is a diarrhoeal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. In 2012, WHO reported 245, 3931 cases of cholera in 48 countries, with more than 3,034 deaths with a case-fatality rate (CFR) of 1.2%. The highest cases were from Africa, followed by Latin America and Asia. The epidemic of cholera is reported to be linked strongly with climate change. Changes in temperature, salinity, rainfall and abundance of phytoplankton have been shown to cause an impact on distribution and survival of V. cholerae. In Bangladesh, cholera (cholera-toxin producing strain of V. cholerae) outbreaks are related to plankton blooms and rise of sea temperature.

Summary

Climate change can affect the quantitative and qualitative status of water resources by altering hydrological cycles, systems and through changes of water quality via chemical and biological contamination. Changes in these variables lead to impacts on all the socio-economic and environmental goods and services that depend on these variables directly or indirectly including water supply, damage to ecosystems, water dependent food production. The most dominant climate drivers for water quantity or water availability are precipitation, run-off and river flows, floods, droughts, snows, glaciers, sea level rise etc. The observed climate change related impacts on world’s water resources/water quantity include increased precipitation at high latitudes and temperate areas and decreasing trends at low latitudes. The annual run-off in some regions may experience increased run-off, such as in high latitudes and large parts of the USA, whereas there has been a decrease in run-off such as parts of West Africa, southern Europe and southernmost of South America. Floods have been the most reported natural disaster events in Africa, Asia and Europe than all other natural disasters and in case of Bangladesh, six extreme floods have occurred in the last two decades. More intense droughts have been reported from Australia, semi-arid and semi-humid regions, western USA and southern Canada, the Sahel. Precipitation is projected to increase at mid- and high latitudes, in the tropics, whereas precipitation is projected to decrease over many sub-tropical areas (North Africa, northern Sahara), tropical Central American (Caribbean) and the Mediterranean. In areas where evaporation rates are expected to increase it would lead to reduced river and stream run-off. In contrast, areas receiving higher precipitation would likely have higher lake and river levels and may experience floods. The annual stream flow in the Murray-Darling basin (Australia) is projected to fall by 10-25% by 2050 and 16-48% by 2100 which would have severe consequences on irrigated agriculture in the region. Rivers depending on the Himalayan glaciers such as the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Syr Darya and Amu Darya could face water shortages or river run-off due to retreat of glaciers, and this would cause dramatic impact on drinking water supplies, biodiversity, hydropower, industry, agriculture and ecosystems on which about 2.4 billion people in Asia depends. Globally, ground water is the source of one third of all freshwater withdrawals, supplying an estimated 36%, 42% and 27% of the water used for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes, respectively. The demand for groundwater is likely to increase due to global increase of water use for irrigation and a decline in surface water quality and reduced summer flows in snow-dominated basins. It is projected that climate change (drought, floods) will affect groundwater recharge rates (e.g. floods would increase recharge, drought would decrease recharge).

India is the seventh largest country in the world with 17 per cent of the world’s population and with a total geographical area of 329 Mha, extending from 8°4’ to 37°6’ in the North and 68°7’ to 97°25’ in the East. It is bounded by the World’s highest mountains- the Himalayas in the North and surrounded by the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal in the South. The Indian Coastline along the southern part of the Country is over 7500 km long. The Country includes vast plains like the Indo-Gangetic Plains, and the Central Deccan Plateau, bordered by the Western Ghats on either side in the West and the South. The biodiversity in the terrain leads to a wide variety of climatic conditions, ranging from tropical to temperate climates across the Western Ghats. These range from permanent snowfields to tropical coastlands; areas of virtual desert in the northwest to fertile intensively cultivated rice fields in the northeast. A large proportion of India’s population continues to live in rural areas and depends heavily on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, animal agriculture and forestry for its livelihood. Agriculture is the mainstay of Indian economy. The Indian climate is dominated by the great wind system called the Monsoons, on which the Indian agriculture is dependant. The southwest monsoon is critical to the kharif crop (first crop), which accounts for more than 50% of the foodgrains production and 65% of the oilseeds production in the Country. The inter-annual monsoon rainfall variability in India leads to large-scale droughts and floods, resulting in a major effect on Indian foodgrain production (Parthasarathy and Pant, 1985; Parthasarathy et al., 1992; Selvaraju, 2003; Kumar et al., 2004) and on the economy of the Country (Gadgil et al., 1999a; Kumar and Parikh, 2001). Climatic variability and occurrence of extreme events are major concerns for the Indian subcontinent as they are inbuilt features under the projected climate change scenario. All the projections on climate change are based up on the General Circulation Models (GCMs). All the models project increase in temperature over the Country under different GHG emission scenarios. Rainfall variability is felt in different sub-meteorological divisions across the Country. Though the GCMs have been successful in depicting the gross features of the observed large scale climatological features, there is large uncertainty associated with these projections on regional scale, since the GCMs are yet to realistically reproduce the observed features at regional scale, particularly over the monsoon region (Kumar, et al., 2002). Several downscaling approaches are being used to derive the regional features from large scale model simulations. Under the projected climate change scenario, India will be one of the Countries facing the adverse impacts of climate change as agriculture is the mainstay of people of India. Hence, understanding of rainfall and temperature variability across the Country deserves attention in the projected climate change scenario.

11.1 Introduction

Agriculture sector contributes 19% to the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in India. Combined with land use change and forestry (LUCF), it is the second largest source of GHG emission in India. Initial efforts at dealing with the problem of global warming concentrated on mitigation, with the aim of reducing and possibly stabilizing the GHG concentrations in the atmosphere (UNFCCC, 1992). Even if this stabilization was achieved, sea level rise and global warming would continue to increase over centuries because of the inertia of the earth systems. Mitigation activities are traditionally employed as natural resources conservation measures, but they generally serve the dual purposes of reducing the emission of GHG from anthropogen sources, and enhancing carbon ‘‘sink’’. Forestry sector holds the key to the success of mitigation efforts, and has great potential to sequester carbon through reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), afforestation and reforestation, and forest management. India’s vast area of croplands, through cropland management, could be an important area for sequestering carbon in soils. India being the largest producer of rice and livestock in the world, appropriate management can contribute to a reduction of methane emission from rice production and enteric fermentation.

Kerala, popularly known as the God’s own country, is situated at the southern tip of India between latitude range 8°15‘ N to 12°50’ N and 74°50’ E to 77°30’ E longitude. The State is graced with 44 rivers and numbers of streams and has rich biodiversity and tropical rain forests spread in 13 agro-ecological zones under humid tropics. Kerala is the Gateway of monsoon in India. Though Kerala is identified as Plantation State, the major staple food is rice. The annual rainfall in Kerala is about 2.7 times the national average. More or less assured amount of rainfall is being received in almost every year over the State, though inter-annual variability is felt more in recent decades. Uncertainties in rainfall are also felt much in the recent decades. Droughts during summer and floods during rainy season are frequent. Natural disasters like landslides/mud slips during rainy season are common across the mid and high lands of Kerala as the intensity of rainfall is high. Atmospheric temperature across the State is increasing. 1983 was a disastrous drought year in Kerala. The severe summer affected the State’s plantation crops economy to a considerable extent. Insignificant rainfall led to the severe summer drought during 1982–83.

Abstract

Climate is changing naturally at its own pace, since the beginning of evolution of earth, 4–5 billion years ago, but presently it has gained momentum due to inadvertent anthropogenic disturbances. Global climate is changing and it can have serious implications for our food security through its direct and indirect effects on crops, soils, live stocks, fisheries and pests. In the developing countries including India there has been relatively less attention paid to this topic in an integrated manner. Agriculture is the largest human activity in the world which depends on climatic parameters. We can manipulate soil, water and nutrient management practices but manipulation of climate is beyond our control. It influences crop-pest equilibrium. More than 50% differences in yield are due to climatic variation. Different causes of climate change are: A) Natural cause: Earth orbit, Global warming, Mountains, Sun, and Volcano. B) Anthropogenic cause: Global warming, Deforestation, Change in land use pattern. Climate change is a present reality and a major risk for future generations. Implementing energy conservation methods and utilizing renewable resource such as green power (power from moon, hydrogen fuel, nuclear power, sewage power, geothermal power and power of the mighty sun). Government should also encourage the use of mass transit; provide tax rebates for people who buy low and no pollution vehicles and subsidies to fossil fuels and the nuclear industries.

Introduction

The intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) which takes account of on historical, psychological, social , physical and economic and political perspectives of climate change in its report, released in November 2014 said that the Working Group I contribution to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) considers new evidence of climate change based on many independent scientific analyses from observations of the climate system, paleoclimate archives, theoretical studies of climate processes and simulations using climate models. Climate change is not controversial as naysayers and some media would convey. After decades of careful observation, collection of data, and tracking of changes in the climate system, there exists a solid, scientific consensus that human-caused climate change is a reality (Michael, 2012). In their report, the NCSE 2015 says that there is substantial scientific agreement about the occurrence, causes, and consequences of climate change. Yet due to the inherent complexity of the topic and the social controversies surrounding it, confusion and doubt often persist. Here, we need to develop the workforce, education, and training for climate-smart Agriculture. The following are some interventions.

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, with far-reaching consequences for the environment, human health, and the economy. One of the most significant impacts of climate change is on the world’s water resources. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and increased frequency of extreme weather events are all taking a toll on the availability, quality, and management of water resources. Water is essential for human survival, and its availability and quality are crucial for human health, food security, and economic development. However, climate change is altering the hydrological cycle, leading to changes in precipitation patterns, increased evaporation, and altered water flows. These changes have significant implications on demand for water resources, including reduced water availability, decreased water quality, and increased risk of waterrelated disasters which will ultimately impact agricultural production and food security.
15.1. Changes in Precipitation Patterns
One of the most significant impacts of climate change on water resources is the alteration of precipitation patterns and projected per cent changes in average annual precipitation over 1850-1900 period at 2.00C increase in temperature are depicted here (Fig.15.1).

Introduction

Climate change is one of the important areas of concern for world to ensure food and nutrition security to the growing population. The impacts of climate change are global but development countries like India are highly vulnerable as large population depends upon agriculture and allied service. As per the latest report, the global average temperature rises is 0.99⁰C (NASA, 2016) since pre-industrial time (1850). The year 2016 ranks as the warmest year, 16 of the 17 warmest years in the 136 years record all have occurred since 2001. The predicted temperature rise for India is in the range 0.5-1.2⁰C by 2020, 0.88-3.16⁰C by 2050 and 1.56-5.44⁰C by the year 2080. Studies in India showed significant negative impacts of climate change, predicted to reduce yields by 4.5 to 9.0%, depending on the magnitude and distribution of warming. Agriculture sector is contributing about 17.4% of India’s GDP, a 4.5-9.0% negative impact on production implies a cost of climate change to be roughly up to 1.5% GDP per year. Therefore, Govt. of India has accorded high priority on research and development to cope with the climate change in general and agriculture and allied sector. The Prime Ministers National Action Plan on Climate Change has Identified Agriculture and allied sector as one of the 8 national Missions. Agriculture and the future of global food security figure very importantly in climate change negotiations. As stated in Article II of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the goal is to ensure stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent “dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”. With this background to meet the challenges of sustaining domestic food production in the face of changing climate and to generate information on adaptation and mitigation in agriculture to contribute to global for a like UNFCCC, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched a flagship network project National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) during XI plan in February 2011, and during XII Plan it is referred as National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA).

Introduction 
Chapter 15 provides a comprehensive analysis of climate change and its profound effects on agriculture and global food systems. This chapter delves into the science of climate change, focusing on its impacts on agricultural practices, climate-smart strategies, and the role of specialized climate change centers and institutes. The chapter begins with an exploration of the impacts of climate change on agriculture, detailing how shifts in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events affect crop yields, livestock production, and overall agricultural productivity. It highlights the vulnerabilities of different agricultural systems and regions to climate change. Climate-smart agricultural practices are central to adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change. This section covers adaptation strategies, such as adjusting planting dates, diversifying crops, and improving water management. It also addresses mitigation strategies, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable farming practices and enhancing carbon sequestration in soils. Adaptation and mitigation strategies are discussed in detail, with an emphasis on how these approaches can be integrated to address climate change comprehensively. The interplay between adaptation (adjusting to changing conditions) and mitigation (reducing the root causes of climate change) is examined, emphasizing the need for balanced and coordinated efforts. The chapter underscores the importance of climate change centers and institutes in addressing food security. These institutions play a crucial role in research, policy development, and the implementation of climate-smart practices. They provide valuable data, tools, and guidance for managing the impacts of climate change on agriculture. The impact of climate change centers and institutes on global warming is analyzed, focusing on how these organizations contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing adaptive capacity. Their role in advancing climate science and supporting climate action is highlighted. Modern concepts in climate change centers and institutes are reviewed, showcasing innovative approaches and technologies that are shaping the field of climate science and its application to agriculture. The chapter concludes with strategies for combating food security and global warming challenges. It emphasizes the need for continued research, international collaboration, and the adoption of effective climate-smart practices to ensure sustainable agricultural systems and enhance global food security.

12.1 What is Climate Change?
 
The earth receives short-wave radiation from the sun, one-third of which is absorbed by the atmosphere, ocean, ice-land and living organisms. The energy absorbed from solar radiation is balanced, in the long-term, by the outgoing radiation from the earth and atmosphere. While short-wave radiation from the sun can easily pass through the atmosphere, the long-wave radiation emitted by the warm surface of the earth is partially absorbed by trace gases in the atmosphere called greenhouse gases’ (GHGs).

INTRODUCTION

The debate on climate change is going on. From the report of the Inter Governmental Panel on climate change (IPCC), a premier organization set up in 1998 by the World Meteorological Organisation and United Nations Environment Programme, it is known that the average surface temperature has increased over the 20th century by about 0. 6ºC. The number may seem insignificant but it is an unprecedented rise. In the past 150 years, the 11 hottest years were witnessed. It says that 1990s was the warmest decade and 1998 the warmest year since 1861. Worse, the Artic is warming twice as rapidly as the rest of the world and there is a distinct possibility of the Greenland Ice Sheet collapsing altogether and pushing up sea levels by several metres. It is predicted that 2035 is the year when Himalayan glaciers may totally disappear causing catastrophic disruptions. Unfortunately, India is among the countries that will suffer the most serious consequences as a result of global warming. Following is the probable effect of global warming.

Many aspects of the global climate are changing rapidly. Evidence for changes in the climate system abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans. The climate system is the highly complex system consisting of five major components; the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the land surface and the biosphere, and the interactions among them. The climate system evolves in time under the influence of its own internal dynamics and because of external forcings such as volcanic eruptions, solar variations and human-induced forcings such as the changing composition of the atmosphere and land-use.

The term ‘climate variability’ is often used to denote deviations of climatic statistics over a given period of time (e.g., a month, season or year) from the long-term statistics relating to the corresponding calendar period. In this sense, climate variability is measured by those deviations, which are usually termed anomalies.

‘Climate change’ refers to a statistically significant variation in either the mean state of the climate or in its variability, persisting for an extended period (typically decades or longer). Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcings, or due to persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. The United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines ‘climate change’ as ‘a change of climate behaviour which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods’. The UNFCCC thus makes a distinction between ‘climate change’ attributable to human activities altering the atmospheric composition, and ‘climate variability’ attributable to natural causes. Climate change is a long-term shift in weather conditions measured by changes in temperature, precipitation, wind, snow cover, and other indicators. It can involve both changes in average conditions and changes in variability, including, for example, changes in extreme conditions.

A key difference between climate variability and change is in persistence of ‘anomalous’ conditions. In other words, events that are used to be rare occur more frequently, or vice versa. Occasionally, an event or sequence of events occurs that has never been recorded before, such as the exceptional tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004 or hurricane season in the Atlantic in 2005. Yet even that could be a part of natural climate variability. If such a season does not recur within the next 30 years, by looking back it could be called as an exceptional year, but not a ‘climate change’. Only a persistent series of unusual events taken in the context of regional climate parameters can suggest that a potential change in climate has occurred.

8.1 Climate Change

Climate change is a broad term of global negative phenomena as created predominantly by burning of fossil fuels, which add heat-trapping gases to earth’s atmosphere. The over accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere lead to increased temperature and this is called as global warming. As a result, sea-level rise; ice mass loss in Greenland, Antarctica, Arctic and mountain glaciers worldwide; shifts in flowering/ plant blooming; and extreme weather events occur.

From the beginning of 18th century, the human activities started increasing gradually. Industrialization, increased use of petroleum products, deforestation, mining and increased use of chemicals have contributed to the pollution of natural resource base. The proportion of gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane etc started increasing in the atmosphere and more heat is getting trapped in the atmosphere leading to rise in atmospheric temperatures (Fig. 15.1).

The changes in atmosphere temperatures have led to changes in weather patterns. This changes in weather pattern triggered extreme situations like heat wave, cold wave, severe cyclonic activity, strong winds and hail storms, f loods and droughts of greater intensity creating new records.

Climate
This refers to the long-term statistical data of temperature, humidity, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count, and many other meteorological parameters in a particular area. However, weather refers to the current state of these same elements over a maximum of two weeks. The statistical long-term representation of the shortterm weather is called climate. A region’s “climate” is its average long-term weather. Temperature and readiness determine the climate. The variations between the average circumstances at two different times can be used to define changes in the climate. The atmosphere, seas, ice sheets (cryosphere), living things (biosphere), and soils, sediments, and rocks (geosphere) all contribute to and are a part of the global climate system.
When the sun falls on moisture droplets in the earth’s atmosphere, a spectrum of light appears in the sky, creating an optical and meteorological phenomenon known as a rainbow.
A wilderness is an area of the planet’s natural ecosystem that has not seen major alterations from human activities.
The atmosphere, a body of gases or air around the earth, shields it from harm and makes life possible. The planet’s atmosphere is primarily made up of nitrogen, with only 21% being oxygen; the remaining little portion is made up of carbon dioxide and other gases. The earth is divided into five separate layers, ranked from lowest to highest:

The climate crisis has emerged as one of the most pressing issues of our time, threatening the very foundations of our planet and its inhabitants. The scientific consensus is clear: human activities, particularly the emission of greenhouse gases, are significantly contributing to the rising global temperatures, devastating natural disasters, and unpredictable weather patterns. As the world grapples with the challenges posed by climate change, a critical question arises: is it a compromise or a compulsion to act? The climate crisis is a complex and multifaceted issue, requiring a comprehensive and collective response. On one hand, there are those who advocate for a compromise, suggesting that economic growth and development can be balanced with environmental concerns (Fig. 2.1). This approach emphasizes the need for gradual and incremental changes, allowing countries and industries to adapt to new regulations and technologies. Proponents of this view argue that a compromise is necessary to avoid economic disruption, ensure energy security, and promote international cooperation. Fig. 2.1. Eco-evolutionary feedback by carbon cycling traits, in response to climate change On the other hand, there are those who insist that the climate crisis demands a compulsion to act, requiring immediate, drastic, and collective action. This perspective emphasizes the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, transition to renewable energy sources, and protect vulnerable communities from the impacts of climate change. Advocates of this view argue that the window for action is rapidly closing, and that anything less than a concerted and emergency response will condemn future generations to a catastrophic and unlivable world. The science unequivocally supports the latter perspective. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, global carbon emissions must reach net-zero by 2050. This requires a 45% reduction in emissions by 2030, and a complete phase-out of fossil fuels by 2050. The consequences of inaction are stark: more frequent and intense natural disasters, sea-level rise, water scarcity, food insecurity, and mass migration (Fig. 2.1).

12.1 Introduction
Having explored the dynamic realm of Numerical Weather Prediction, which focuses on forecasting the atmosphere’s state over days to weeks, we now shift our focus to a broader, longer-term perspective: Climate Data and Analysis. While weather describes the atmospheric conditions at a specific place and time, climate refers to the long-term average pattern of weather in a region, typically spanning decades or longer. Understanding and analyzing climate data is paramount for comprehending our planet’s past climate, identifying ongoing changes, and projecting future scenarios in a warming world. The study of climate is fundamentally data-driven. Unlike the instantaneous snapshots used in weather forecasting, climate analysis requires vast historical records, often extending back centuries or even millennia, to discern natural variability from human-induced changes. This data comes from a diverse array of sources, including instrumental records (thermometers, rain gauges, barometers), satellite observations, and proxy records (tree rings, ice cores, sediment layers) that provide indirect evidence of past climate conditions. The sheer volume and heterogeneous nature of this data present unique challenges and opportunities for analysis.
This chapter will delve into the essential aspects of climate data and the methodologies used to analyze it. We will begin by exploring the various types of climate data available, understanding their strengths, limitations, and how they are collected and curated. Crucially, we will examine how this data is used to characterize climate variability – the natural fluctuations within the climate system – and to detect climate trends, particularly those associated with global warming. We will introduce key climate indices that summarize large-scale atmospheric and oceanic patterns, providing simplified metrics for
understanding complex interactions.

Introduction

The animal husbandry and agriculture are the major resource of income for the farmers and directly affects the economic conditions of farmers. Livestock sector plays a vital role for livelihood food security in India. Buffalo plays an important role in dairy industry and contribute 49 per cent of total milk production in India (BAHS, 2017). Murrah is one of the best buffalo breeds in the world and also widely used for up-gradation of non-descript buffaloes in India. Murrah buffalo have poor thermoregulation mechanism compared to other domestic ruminants in tropical countries and are more prone to heat stress due to very less sweat glands, jet black colour and thin hairs on body surface (Das et al., 1999; Khongdee et al., 2013) which reduce the ability of cutaneous evaporation and largely responsible for its low productivity and consequently reducing the reproductive efficiency (Gudev et al., 2007). India continues to be the largest milk producer in the world since 1997. Milk production has increased from 165.4 million tonnes (2016-17) to 176.4 million tonnes (2017-18) (DAHD, GOI). The demand for milk is increasing at a very fast pace due to exponential population growth and the gap in the production and supply is increasing. Out of 300 million bovines, only 88 million are in milk leaving large unproductive animals including 84 million males (19th Livestock census, 2012). If the gap of production and supply is to be bridged, the large number of constraints that affect reproductive efficiency and productivity of dairy animals must be addressed effectively. One important factor that can contribute to the productivity of animals is qualitative production and quantitative adequacy of semen doses for A.I.

Abstract

Global warming is predicted to have significant effects in global potato production. Like many crops, potaoes are likely to be affected by changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide, temperature and precipitatiom, as well as interations between these factors. As well as affecting potatoes directly, climate change will also affect the distributions and populations of many potato diseases and pests. Potato is one of the world’s most important food crops. Potato prodcution must be adapted to climate change to aviod reductions in crop yields. Potato plants and potato crop are predicted to benefit from increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. The major benefit of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide for potatoes (and other plants) is an increase in thier photosynthetic rates which can increase their growth rates. Potato crop yields are also predicted to benefit because potates partition more starch to the ediable tubers under elevated carbon dioxides levels. Higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide also results in potatoes having to open thier stomata less to take up equal amount of carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, which means loss through transpiration from stomata. As a result the water use efficiency (the amount of carbon assimilated per unit water lost) of potato plants is predicted to increase.