Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture in India

Climate change is any significant long-term change in the expected patterns of average weather of region (or the whole Earth) over a significant period of time. It is about non-normal variations to the climate, and the effects of these variations on other parts of the Earth. These changes may take tens, hundreds or perhaps millions of year. But increased in anthropogenic activities such as industrialization, urbanization, deforestation, agriculture, change in land use pattern etc. leads to emission of green house gases due to which the rate of climate change is much faster. Climate change scenarios include higher temperatures, changes in precipitation and higher atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. There are three ways in which the Greenhouse Effect may be important for agriculture. First, increased atmospheric CO₂ concentrations can have a direct effect on the growth rate of crop plants and weeds. Secondly, CO₂-induced changes of climate may alter levels of temperature, rainfall and sunshine that can influence plant and animal productivity. Finally, rises in sea level may lead to loss of farmland by inundation and increasing salinity of groundwater in coastal areas.