Impact of climate change on water resources availability and crop productivity in India

Worldwide agriculture contributes about 14% of greenhouse gas emissions with land use change and forest adding another 19%. There is growing recognition that agriculture is already affecting, and being affected by climate change. Future global food supply will depend on how well agriculture adopts to climate change. The apparent impacts of the global climate change in India include erratic monsoon, high intensity floods, increased frequency of draughts, decreasing crop yields among others. Rapid industrial development, growing urbanization and the increasing demand for irrigation water to feed the burgeoning population of India are already placing immense pressure on existing water resources. This paper provides an overview of the impact of various climatic factors on water resources availability and crop productivity. A brief discussion on mitigation/ adaptation strategy towards sustainable crop production under climate change has also been provided as a way forward.

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