Reptile fossils like the one found in Colombia of a giant snake, weighing over a ton, are helping map prehistoric temperatures of the Amazon, says S Ananthanarayan

Udhagamandalam: A change in the weather pattern has become a major source of concern to the farming community in many parts of the Nilgiris.

Kalpesh Damor / Mumbai/ Ahmedabad March 02, 2009, 0:27 IST

Lower acreage coupled with unfavourable weather conditions is likely hit Rabi production in Gujarat in 2008-09. On the one hand, area under wheat, mustard, isabgul and sugarcane crops has declined in the state this Rabi season, while on the other erratic weather condition may affect the yield of wheat, isabgul and jeera.

In 2007, there were 874 weather-related disasters worldwide, a 13-percent increase over 2006 and the highest number since the systematic recording of natural perils began in 1974. Weather-related disasters around the world have been on the rise for decades (see Figure 1): on average, 300 events were recorded every year in the 1980s, 480 events in the 1990s, and 620 events in the last 10 years.