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Climate change is exerting profound effects on global agriculture, posing significant challenges to food security, agricultural productivity, and rural livelihoods. This article explores the intricate relationship between climate change and agriculture, examining how changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events impact crop yields, livestock, and farming practices. It delves into the economic, social, and environmental repercussions of these changes, highlighting vulnerable regions and populations. The article also discusses adaptation and mitigation strategies, emphasizing the roles of technology, policy, and sustainable agricultural practices in building resilience. By understanding the multifaceted impact of climate change on agriculture, we can develop comprehensive approaches to ensure food security and sustainable development in an increasingly unpredictable climate.

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.

Global warming and climate change are becoming major challenges in the front of global community to deal with. Climate change is no more a myth but it is reality. The IPCC, 5^th assessment report clearly stated that “evidence of climate- change impacts is strongest and most comprehensive for natural systems”. Natural and human systems of almost all continents in the world have been affected by climate change in recent decades (IPCC, 2014). Agriculture is essential for sustainability of human life on earth but change in climate is threatening its sustainability. In recent decades all aspects of food security has been potentially affected by climate change, including food access, utilization, and price stability. It has been projected that in absence of adaptation measure, increases in local temperature by 2°C or more above late-20^th-century levels will negatively impact production of the major crops in tropical and temperate regions.

Agriculture is one of the major economic activities responsible for food security and livelihood for millions of people. Success, production and productivity of agricultural crops are highly dependent on climate, soil and water. Thus climate change will have adverse effect on agricultural crops. High atmospheric temperature, unpredicted erratic rainfall, rapid soil degradation and evolution of new insect and pests due to climate change will offer new challenge to sustain agriculture. Many part of the world and India is already experiencing impact of climate change on agricultural crops (like early maturity, geographical shift and occurrence of new pests) and these impacts are predicted to increase rapidly in future. The increasing concern about adverse impact of climate change on food security has led to extensive research and documentation of impact of climate change on field crops like rice, wheat and maize. While the clear and holistic idea about impact of climate change on horticultural crops like vegetables and fruits are not well documented especially in developing countries like India.

Stored-product insects damage grains, cereals, pulses and other commodities, causing quantitative losses and deterioration in food quality and nutritional value. Climate change influences temperature and humidity within storage environments, directly affecting insect development, reproduction, survival and population growth. Warmer conditions may shorten life cycles, increase the number of generations and expand the distribution of important storage pests. Poor storage structures and inadequate pest management further increase these risks, particularly in developing countries. This chapter examines the influence of changing climatic conditions on stored-product pests and emphasizes improved storage design, monitoring, sanitation and climate-adaptive management practices for protecting stored food and maintaining food security.

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 

Abstract

Climate models predict a global average increase of air temperatures in the range of 14^°C by 2100 (IPCC 2014) - a pace exceeding that of past climatic modifications. Change in temperature is expected to influence species occurrence and distribution with up to 37% of all extant species “committed to extinction” due to climate change. These predictions, however, do not include species interactions and evolutionary change which will significantly alter the fate of species. It is therefore important to improve our understanding of host-parasite interactions and subsequent evolution in response to environmental changes in general and temperature changes in particular. Globally livestock production systems are estimated to account for around 18% of emissions. The need of hour is to draw on recent advances in climatology and epidemiology of various parasitic diseases to consider how environmental changes linked with urbanization and climate change can alter the biology of hosts, pathogens and vectors. Climate change is leading to unusual flare-up of diseases, outbreak recurrences, range expansions, or invasion into novel territories and ecosystems, concomitantly with vector or host range shifts. Higher temperatures increase the invertebrate metabolic rate, egg production amount, and feeding frequency, reducing the duration of the development periods and impacting on the number of generations per year and population abundance effecting livestock and human health and socio-economic transformation

Introduction
 
Climate change is a result from emission of greenhouse gases (e.g. CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, etc.) that will cause atmospheric warming (IPCC, 2007). Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcing such as modulations of the solar cycles, volcanic eruptions, and persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. Human induced changes in atmosphere composition are a major concern. Burning of fossil fuels, like oil, coal, and natural gas is adding CO₂ to the atmosphere.

Mites are economically important pests of agricultural and horticultural crops whose development and population dynamics are strongly influenced by environmental conditions. Rising temperatures, drought, reduced humidity and altered rainfall can accelerate mite reproduction, shorten generation time and increase infestation severity. Climate change may expand the geographical range of damaging species, alter host suitability and disturb interactions with predatory mites and other natural enemies. Increased pesticide use following outbreaks may further disrupt biological control and encourage resistance. This chapter examines climate-related changes in mite biology, distribution and pest status and presents adaptive management strategies involving surveillance, resistant cultivars, biological control and integrated pest-management practices.

6.1 Introduction

The sensitivities of plants and of crop yield to a changing climate, is a major challenge for the agricultural research community to relate these findings to the broader societal concern with food security. This chapter reviews the direct effects of climate on both crop growth and yield and on plant pests and pathogens and the interactions that may occur between crops, pests, and pathogens under changed climate. The better understanding of the roles of pests and pathogens in crop production systems that might   make to enhanced food security is discussed. Evidence for the measured climate change on crops and their associated pests and pathogens is starting to be documented. Globally atmospheric CO₂ has increased, and in northern latitudes mean temperature at many locations has increased by about 1.0–1.4 ^°C with accompanying changes in pest and pathogen incidence and to farming practices. Many pests and pathogens exhibit considerable capacity for generating, recombining, and selecting fit combinations of variants in key pathogenicity, fitness, and aggressiveness traits that there is little doubt that any new opportunities resulting from climate change will be exploited by them.

Plant-parasitic nematodes are important soil-borne pests that reduce crop productivity by feeding on roots and interfering with water and nutrient absorption. Temperature, soil moisture, rainfall, carbon dioxide and host-plant conditions influence their development, reproduction, survival and geographical distribution. Climate change may allow certain nematode species to expand into new regions, complete additional generations and cause greater crop damage. Drought, flooding and altered soil conditions may also modify interactions among nematodes, plants, microorganisms and natural enemies. This chapter examines the likely effects of climate change on important plant-parasitic nematodes and discusses monitoring, forecasting and adaptive management approaches for climate-resilient crop protection.

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.

Predatory arthropods provide valuable ecosystem services by suppressing agricultural pests and maintaining ecological balance. Important predators include ladybird beetles, lacewings, predatory bugs, spiders, mites and other groups that consume harmful insects at different developmental stages. Their small body size and ectothermic nature make them sensitive to changing temperature and moisture regimes. Global warming can affect their metabolism, development, body size, fecundity, longevity, dispersal and geographical distribution. Climate change may also disrupt temporal and spatial relationships between predators and their prey. This chapter examines the effects of climatic changes on predatory arthropods and their continuing role in natural and applied biological control.

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.

Importance of rice in Konkan area is characterized by heavy rains of 100 mm per week or so over an extended period and contributes 42.9 % of total rice production in the Maharashtra State. Rice is the only suitable crop that can be grown under puddled soil conditions, i.e. with standing water over bunded fields. Tansplanting method of rice is commonly followed by most of the farmers in this region. Puddled rice is said to be of assistance in mitigating the effects of floods. The problem of weeds is minimal in puddled rice culture. Thus, rice serves as a livelihood crop for millions of small, and marginal farmers in Konkan who can afford only low-cost technologies. Even though the crop is robust and versatile, it has faced drawbacks in terms of low yield and reduction in acreage. In Konkan region of Maharshtra, there are two agro climatic zones viz., North Konkan coastal zone comprising three districts viz., Thane, Raigad and Greater Mumbai and South Konkan Coastal Zone comprising two districts viz., Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. Ratnagiri district receives the highest rainfall of > 3500 mm while Thane district receives the lowest rainfall (2000-2500 mm) in this region. Sindhudurg and Raigad districts receives 3000-3500 and 2500-3000 mm rainfall, respectively. It is generally observed that South Konkan districts record high rice yields in spite of low area while reverse in North Konkan districts. The district wise area and production of rice in Konkan region as the mean for the period of 1997-98 to 2014-15 revealed that, Thane occupies largest average area of 133822 ha under rice, while Raigad has the highest production of rice (308555 tonnes) and Sindhudurga district has the high productivity of 2.75 t ha^-1. The trends in area, production and productivity of rice for the period 1997-98 to 2014-15 shows significant decreasing trend in paddy area while in case of production and productivity the trend is increasing. Paddy area decreased from 425000 ha in 1997-98 to only 311300 ha in 2014-15, while productivity increased from 2.44 tonnes ha^-1 in 1997-98 to 2.88 tonnes ha^-1 in 2014-15. In this context, it is necessary to understand the agro meteorological constraints for improving the yield and simultaneously reduce the fall in cultivated area.

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.

Soil supports diverse arthropod communities, including insects, mites, springtails, spiders, millipedes and centipedes. These organisms contribute to decomposition, nutrient cycling, soil formation, microbial regulation and food-web stability. Their activities improve soil fertility, structure and overall ecosystem functioning. However, soil arthropods are highly responsive to temperature, moisture, vegetation and other environmental factors. Global warming, altered rainfall, drought and changes in soil properties can modify their diversity, abundance, distribution and ecological interactions. Despite their importance, climate-change effects on soil arthropods remain comparatively understudied. This chapter examines their ecological roles, relationships with soil properties and responses to changing climatic conditions in agricultural ecosystems.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolour (L.) Moench) is one of the most nutritional and fifth most important cereal crop after maize, wheat, rice and barley as well as a major dietary staple food crop of more than 500 million people in various countries (Ashok Kumar et al., 2011). It is considered as the “King of Millets” that extensively grown in Semi-Arid Tropics (SAT). As a coarse grain, it is used not only for human food, but also for fodder and feed for animals, and building material etc. Its grain is used to make bread, biscuits, sugar, starch, syrups, and alcohol, beer and malt products. It is a good source of energy, protein, vitamin, minerals, and trace elements. Sorghum cultivation in India probably started in the first millennium BC (Dogget, 1988). In India, sorghum is commonly known as jowar and accounts 14% of total world’s sorghum cultivated area and 8% production. India stands first in area of cultivation and second major producer until the end of 20^th century. Currently (2012-16). India stands second in cultivated area after Sudan and fourth in production after USA, Nigeria and Mexico. It is the fifth major cereal crop in India after rice, wheat, maize, and pearl millet (bajra), and accounts 6% of total cereal cultivated area and 3% of total cereal production (DES, 2016). Sorghum is cultivated in India majorly during kharif (rainy) season as a rainfed crop and in rabi (post-rainy) season under residual soil moisture/limited-irrigated conditions. Sorghum is gaining importance along the coastal belt of Andhra Pradesh as rice fallows during rabi season in place of maize due to water scarcity in recent years. Maize requires 4 to 6 irrigations while 2 to 3 irrigations in case of sorghum during the crop season for potential yields under field conditions. In this chapter,a glimpse of sorghum growing regions in India, interrelationship between climatic changes and yield of sorghum and adaptation strategies to sustain sorghum productivity in India during future climatic periods are discussed in detail.

Introduction

The problem of dealing with climate change, a critical global issue, has come to define our era. Human activities are rapidly altering Earth’s climate, with far- reaching repercussions for many industries, including agriculture. The necessity for environmentally responsible food production is pressing as the global population rises. One possible way to lessen the effects of global warming on food production is to adopt the sustainable agriculture practice of striking a balance between environmental protection, social justice, and economic viability. The impacts of climate change on farming may be seen all across the world right now. Global food security is threatened by climate change, which is causing higher temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and increasing extreme weather events. Greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and unsustainable farming practices all have a hand in accelerating global warming. Therefore, it is crucial to tackle the double problem of lowering agriculture’s environmental imprint while also adapting it to climate change. Sustainable agriculture works toward a compromise by encouraging robust and flexible agricultural practices. It aims to ensure the sustainability of food production in the future while reducing environmental effects by incorporating climate change adaptation and mitigation techniques into agricultural practices. Agricultural systems can be made more resistant to climate change by the use of sustainable farming practices such as agroforestry, crop diversification, soil conservation, and water management. Sustainable farming practices help communities adapt to climate change, boost local economies, and secure food supplies for future generations.

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.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its fifth assessment report (AR5) stated that warming of the climate system is unequivocal and is more pronounced since the 1950s. The atmosphere and oceans warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, and rise in sea level is noticed. Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850 and the globally averaged combined land and ocean surface temperature data show a warming of 0.85°C over the period 1880 to 2012. The recent years viz., 2015, 2016 and 2017 were the hottest years on record. The warming trend in India since 1961 has indicated an increase of 0.9°C, which is likely to impact many crops, negatively impacting food production. There are already evidences of negative impacts on yields of wheat and paddy in northern India due to increased temperature, water stress, and reduction in number of rainy days. Coastal agriculture has the onus of providing livelihood to nearly 20 % of Indian population. The water logging and coastal salinity are the major factors affecting the agricultural output from the regions. During the past decade, frequency of the extreme events such as droughts, cyclone and hailstorms increased, with 2002, 2004, 2009, 2012, and 2014 being severe droughts. Frequent cyclones and severe hailstorms in various central and southern Indian states and drought prone areas have become common. Eastern part of the country is affected by sea water intrusion. Reduced food grain productivity, loss to vegetable and fruit crops, fodder scarcity, shortage of drinking water to animals during summer, forced migration of animals, severe loss to poultry and fishery sectors were registered due to the climatic stresses, threatening the livelihoods of rural poor particularly in the coastal regions of the country.

Climate change projections for Indian subcontinent up to 2100 indicate an increase in temperature by 2-4⁰C, with different regions expected to experience differential changes in the amount of rainfall. India will experience an increase in mean and extreme precipitation during monsoon. This will increase both floods and drought. Freshwater resources will be affected due to combination of climate change and unsustainable practices. It is projected that Indian agriculture will lose over US $7 billion by 2030. There will be large reductions in wheat yield in the Indo-Gangetic plain; and substantial increase in heat stress for rice, affecting yield in the country. Coastal flooding will affect people and agriculture and also affect tourism in India. Some of the fish and other marine animals will face extinction by 2050, affecting fishing community. Glaciers in Himalaya continue to shrink affecting run-off and water resources downstream. Impacts of global climate change will be felt among the populations, predominantly on subsistence and smallholder farmers. Since agriculture currently contributes about 17 % of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), a negative impact on production implies cost of climate change to roughly range from 0.7% to 1.35% of GDP per year especially with rural India. The Indian agriculture production system faces the daunting task of feeding 17.5% of the global population with only 2.4% of land and 4% of water resources at its disposal. India is more vulnerable to climate change in view of the different vulnerabilities such as heat stress, cold waves and seasonal flooding in northern India; seasonal flooding, sea water intrusion, soil salinity and severe drought in eastern India; drought, salinity, severe cyclones and scarcity monsoon in Southern India.

Climate change significantly impacts agriculture, altering growing conditions, crop yields, and the livelihoods of farmers. Rising temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns can lead to more frequent and intense droughts, floods, and storms, which disrupt planting and harvesting schedules and reduce crop productivity. Changes in temperature and precipitation can also exacerbate pest and disease pressures, making it harder for farmers to protect their crops. Additionally, the increased frequency of extreme weather events can damage infrastructure and soil health, further challenging agricultural systems. These effects pose serious threats to food security, necessitating the development of climate-resilient farming practices and crop varieties, as well as policies that support sustainable agricultural development and climate adaptation.

The climate change is not “gender neutral”. Women and girls experience the greatest impacts of climate change, which amplifies existing gender inequalities and poses unique threats to their livelihoods, health, and safety.

Climate change effect on women

1. Reduced Agricultural Productivity: Climate change leads to crop failures, reduced yields, and changed growing seasons, affecting women’s income and food security.

2. Increased Water Scarcity: Changes in precipitation patterns and increased evaporation lead to water scarcity, forcing women to travel farther for water, reducing their time for other activities.

3. Soil Erosion and Degradation: Flooding and erosion caused by climate change degrade soil quality, reducing fertility and affecting crop growth, further threatening women’s livelihoods.

Agricultural production system has gone a long way in supporting the world’s food requirement. The projected estimates revealed that to meet the global population of about 11.3 billion in 2050, the global demand for cereal will increase by 60% (Rosegrant and Cline, 2003, Bengtsson et al., 2006). Agriculture is considered as the chief agent of environmental transformation. The unrestrained attitude of Homo sapiens towards the use of natural resource catalyzing the causes leading to global warming, has increased the challenges manifold to provide food security in a sustainable manner. Increased concentration of CO2 and other green house gases have resulted in an increase of 0.760 C in surface temperature globally since nineteenth century and the mean global surface temperature is predicted to increase by an additional 1.30C to 1.80C by 2050( IPCC, 2007). Sinha and Swaminathan (1991) reported that an increase of 20C in temperature could decrease the rice yield by about 0.75 t/ha in the high yield areas and a 0.5oC increase in winter temperature would reduce wheat yield 0.45 t/ha.

GHG emissions as an Agriculture
Agriculture is significant source of GHG emission. Farming records for roughly 10-12 % of absolute anthropogenic GHG emissions, contributing 40 % of all out methane (CH4) and 60 % of nitrous oxide (N2O); agriculture is greatest wellspring of anthropogenic non-CO2 discharges. CH4 begins predominantly from metabolic action of methane-creating microscopic organisms in rice paddy soils and the gastrointestinal maturation of ruminants. N2O discharges get predominantly from farmland soil nitrification and de-nitrification under nitrogen manure application. Rural waste treatment, for example, fertilizing the soil and biogas creation, likewise straightforwardly brings about CH4 and N2O discharges. The change of land use from backwoods to cropland increments soil CO2 discharges. Notwithstanding immediate GHG discharges, farming exercises like apparatus tasks, and compost and feed inputs additionally by implication increment the carbon impression of farming by means of different pathways like petroleum product utilization.
Agriculture a Key Carbon Sinks
Farming moreover addresses a key carbon sink, in spite of the way that it is a huge wellspring of GHG. Horticultural perennials, for instance, field, backwoods, natural item estates and tea houses can get CO2 from the Environment through photosynthesis. It is evaluated that around 13 % of the CO2 emanated by oil based commodity use is consumed by natural vegetation reliably. Vegetation stores are changed into soil natural carbon (SOC) by the activities of microorganisms. In particular, microbial Nero mass can associate with soil minerals to shape a muddled that is a protected carbon pool and the soil carbon can subsequently be taken care of for a surprisingly long time; this carbon tirelessness instrument is known as a soil microbial-mineral carbon siphon. The soil carbon pool (2400 Gt) truly relies upon twice that set aside in the terrestrial vegetation and on different occasions that set aside in the air. The “4 for every 1000 soil carbon overhaul plan,” first proposed by the French service of agribusiness at the Collected Nations Environmental Change Gettogether held in 2015, relies upon the epic carbon-sink breaking point of soils.

Globally, the climate change is clearly evident in the form of changing weather pattern, and this has direct and indirect bearing on livestock production. Scientific evidence from multiple resources indicates that, without a doubt, climate is changing. It is also possible to suggest with increased confidence that climate is changing because of increased human activities which have serious repercussions on social and economic development. Greenhouse gases absorb heat from the sun in the atmosphere and reduce the amount of heat escaping into space. This extra heat has been found to be the primary cause of observed changes in the climate system over the 20th century. Livestock make a necessary and important contribution to global calorie, protein supplies and important micro nutrients such as B12, iron, calcium. They produce 17% of calories consumed globally and 33% of protein. Livestock can increase the world’s edible protein balance by transforming inedible protein found in forage into forms that people can digest. Climate change poses serious threats to livestock production. Various climate model projections suggest that by the year 2100, mean global temperature may be 1.1–6.4 °C

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.

The Jammu and Kashmir State lies in the extreme North of the Himalayas and constitutes about 67.5 per cent of the North West Himalayan region. The State is predominantly a mountainous state with all the major Himalayan ranges and trans-Himalayas adequately represented. The State of Jammu and Kashmir located in the north Western corner of India, extends between 32^o-17' and of 37^o-50' North parallels of latitude and 73^o-26' and 80^o-30' East of meridians of longitudes and 81^o East of Greenwich. The State on the basis of physiography may be divided into three main regions (i) outer Himalayas which comprise of Jammu province (ii) lesser Himalayas which comprises of Kashmir Valley and (iii) inner Himalayas which comprise of Ladakh province. Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions have distinct agro climatic characteristics. Jammu region has two different climatic zones depending primarily on altitude. Lower hills & plains bear subtropical climate with hot dry summer lasting from April to July. The summer monsoon commences around first fortnight of July and fading away in early September. This is followed by dry spell from September to November. Winter is mild and temperature seldom touches freezing point. In the high reaches of Chenab valley, the climate is moist temperate, winter is severe and varied quantity of snow is received. The Kashmir valley with Pir Panjal Mountains on its South and Karakoram on its North receives precipitation in the form of snow due to western disturbances. The winter is severely cold and temperature often goes below 0°C. Summers are warm and dry and autumn is again cool and sometimes wet. Ladakh is situated in eastern mountain range of Kashmir. This is one of the highest ranges in the world. It is a cold desert receiving very little precipitation. The temperature remains below the freezing point during winter due to its high altitude.

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.

Climate change is a multifaceted alteration of climate which is perceptibly subtle and yet continuous, nevertheless it is extremely important due its consequences on whole biome that thrives under constant or relatively unchanged climates. The effects of climate change have reached such an extent that irreversible changes in the functioning of the planet are feared. Some of the main effects of climate change with specific reference to agriculture and food production especially during the last decade are: increased occurrence of storms and floods; increased incidence and severity of droughts and forest fires; steady spreading out of frost-free intervals and potential growing season; increased frequency of diseases and insect pest attacks; and vanishing habitats of plants and animals. Currently, the world is facing a challenge of producing sufficient food from dwindling natural resource base for the constantly increasing population. Strengthening of agricultural activities through improved productivity and effective resource management is one of the key options existing as competition for land and water are increasing from non-farm sectors. In other words, more production is required from fewer natural resources under future climate scenarios. Agriculture, human health and animal health are three important pillars of global livelihood security systems and they contribute to the developing nations’ GDP significantly. While major crops and livestock world over contribute to the food security, the human resource has been a major driver of the growth in these sectors directly and indirectly. Across continents, climate influences these three pillars substantially. Climate –variability and -change are exerting additional pressure on developing countries of tropics and subtropics which are already at the threshold to cope with the increasing demand for food for increasing population pressure. Climatic disturbances in terms of increase/decrease in temperature, high intensity rainfalls, droughts, floods, hail storms and other extreme weather events in these areas will cause significant yield declines in major food grain crops. Several forecasts for the coming decades project changes in precipitation resulting in more frequent droughts and floods, increase in atmospheric CO₂ and temperature, widespread runoff leading to leaching of soil nutrients and reduction in freshwater availability. With the impending global climate change and the need to secure food supplies for the future, it becomes imperative to understand the consequences of climate change on the productivity of important agricultural crop species (Shanker et al 2014).

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.

Introduction
Climate change mitigation refers to the efforts and strategies to reduce or prevent the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere to limit global warming and its subsequent impacts on ecosystems, human health, and economies. This process is critical to achieving the global climate targets set under frameworks like the Paris Agreement. Technology, particularly Information Technology (IT), has emerged as a vital tool in the fight against climate change, providing a range of solutions to monitor, manage, and mitigate the environmental impacts caused by human activities. IT-driven strategies enable real-time monitoring of environmental variables, optimising resource use, and developing innovative solutions across various energy, transportation, agriculture, and urban planning sectors.

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.

The Northeast Region (NER) of India consists of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, covering an area of 255168 km². The area is characterized by rich biodiversity, heavy precipitation and high seismicity. Although the contribution from agricultural sector towards gross domestic product has declined, yet it remains the predominant sector for Indian Economy. Over 75% of the people of NE India directly depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Therefore, better performance of agriculture has a direct and multiplier effect across the economy of the region. Because of climate change the rain fed agriculture is facing a greater risk as it is resource poor and having limited flexibility for adaptation. Under changing scenarios there is increase in demand for fresh water and nutrient requirement, increase in soil erosion and nutrient losses affecting soil health, intensification of pest, disease and weed problems, reduction in nutritional quality and low input use efficiency. Continuous mono-cropping and the associated excessive tillage, inadequate erosion control measures and large scale slash and burn cultivation (Jhum) resulted in significant environmental damage and a non-sustainable crop production system in the region. The Jhum or slash- and- burn cultivation is very much prevalent in the region. This practice involves reckless slashing and burning of forest area for cultivation leading to release of carbon dioxide and significant amount of other Green House Gases such as nitrous oxide. The intensive ploughing of the cleared mountain makes the land very much susceptible for erosion leading to soil degradation and loss of soil organic carbon. The climate change is likely to add more burden to already struggling agricultural sector of the state. The climate change is a concern to researchers and farmers because it would lead to change in insect and disease dynamics i.e. the distribution, abundance and management of insect and pathogens. Moreover, there would be increase and variation of livestock disease and adaptation, and decline in soil health. The magnitude of impact varies with geographic location and is tailored to local circumstances and ecosystems. The erratic rainfall trend in the recent past lead to the failure in planning proper water management techniques and also makes the prediction of disease outbreak difficult in this region. Agro- climatic conditions of NEH are conductive for the development and multiplication of insect pests and their natural enemies. Due to climate change rice insect pests continue to be one of the major constraints to rice production, which causes about 20% yield losses. Maize is the second most important crop in the region. It is primarily grown in the Jhum land and terraced area in NEH region. In moisture stress area, occurrence of cutworm (Agrotis flammatra and Agrotis segetum) was found very serious. The important pulses grown in the region are pigeon pea, cowpea, rice beans, rajamash, Bengal gram, mung bean, lentil, fababean and lathyrus etc. Due to favourable climatic conditions, pulse crop are infested with number of pests throughout the cropping season.

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.

Climate Change: Understanding our Earth and Atmosphere

Our Mother Earth is the fifth largest planet in the solar system and the third from the sun. It is also the sole planet whose name comes from old English language only, and not from names of any other celestial bodies, whose names originated mostly from Greek/Roman mythology. Earth has a diameter of 6378 km, of which the earth crust (uppermost skin) is only 24 km. Earth is the only planet where water exists as liquid and 71% of its surface is covered by water. The earth’s atmosphere is made up mostly of nitrogen (77%) and oxygen (21%) gases. CO₂ consists of a very small (trace) fraction (0.03%) of atmosphere, but is most vital for the life cycle. When earth was created, it has got much higher CO₂ than today, and all of them have been sequestered in rocks as carbonates and dissolved in oceans and a negligible amount is distributed in plant communities. This extremely small quantity of CO₂ is keeping life on earth, by maintaining earth’s temperature at a comfortable 14°C (without CO₂, earth’s temperature would have been -21°C). This effect is called the ‘greenhouse effect’, revolving which all issues of climate change exist. It is also to be noted that water vapour is also an important greenhouse gas (GHG). It is to also to be noted that in spite of substantial increase in solar constant, earth’s average temperature has remained stable for billions of years. It is understood that this was possible through variation in CO₂, and it is the biological processes (Earth biosphere) that controlled the environment over years (Gaia hypothesis).

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.

Evidence is fast accumulating that the problem of climate change is of a scale not previously encountered by human societies. The scale and scope of climate change challenges to food and water security are unprecedented. World food supply is already facing significant pressures. Even without climate change, ensuring sufficient food for all in the 21^st century would be difficult enough. Climate influences food security through many channels. Climate change will increase the severity and frequency of cyclones, flooding and drought. It will intensify rainfall variability, increasing water stress, weeds, pests, and erosion and reducing soil fertility. Above certain temperature ranges, crops develop more rapidly, resulting in lower overall grain production, even moderate increases in temperature can decrease yields in major food crops. Population growth, urbanisation, higher per capita calorie intake, and increasing consumption of meat combine to put more pressure on exiting water recourses. Tension and possibly conflict over water would most likely occur even in the absence of climate change. But climate change greatly exacerbates the problem. There can be little genuine doubt that the world’s climate is changing in ways that will seriously affect the life on the earth. There is a widespread acceptance that the troposphere the lower part of the atmosphere that contains most of the world’s weather systems is becoming warmer. The vast bulk of the climate analysis supports the view that warming is due to increased emissions of particularly carbon dioxide and methane resulting from human action. There is also a growing understanding of the negative legacy of past greenhouse gas emission. Even if carbon pollution was stopped today the effects of global warming would continue to be felt for at least 50 years into the future. Climate change has significant implications for the food and water security of many of the world’s 6.7 billion inhabitants. These implications are especially severe for the 2 billion who are food insecure and/or suffer physically and intellectual limitations due to inadequate nutrition (ICTSD, 2009). In relation to India, current climate variability and future climate change at local levels, given the important climatic variations across time and space. While rainfall variability is a major factor causative to instant fluctuations in agricultural production, to overcome for this it is necessitate to move away from this conventional emphasis by also taking into account hail storms, prolonged dry spells, temperature variability and extreme temperatures. Agriculture is the primary source of revenue in the state of Maharashtra. The state has 17.4 million ha of land under cultivation while 84% of the total area under agriculture is rainfed and is directly dependent on the monsoon. A series on Marathwada’s battle with three consecutive years of drought is incomplete without understanding the impact of climate change. The rise in the country’s annual temperature by 0.7 °C and erratic climatic patterns are sure to affect the region’s agriculture which is primarily rainfed with 12 per cent area under irrigation (Dakhore et al, 2017).

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.

The effects of global warming and/or climate change are of concern both for the environment and human life. Evidence of observed climate change includes the instrumental temperature record, rising sea levels, and decreased snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere. According to the IntergovernmentalPanel for Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report, “most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in [human greenhousegas] concentrations. It is predicted that futureclimate changes will include further globalwarming (i.e., an upward trendin global mean temperature), sea level rise, and a probable increase in the frequency of some extreme weather events. Ecosystems are seen as being particularly vulnerable to climate change. Human systems are seen as being variable in their capacity toadapt to future climate change. To reduce the risk of large changes in future climate, many countries have implemented policies designed to reducetheir emissions of greenhouse gas.

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, a global phenomenon of present time, has emerged as the greatest challenge of the world in the twenty-first century. Rising earth’s surface temperature is one of the most threatening factors coming into view. The substantial changes in the earth’s climate have an impact on ecosystems, economics and societies in a variety of ways (Sharma et al., 2024). It is one of the important environmental, agricultural, human and animal health issue. Climate change is an association of multidimensional effects involving physical characteristics, causes and consequences (Visschers, 2018). The climate change has resulted in to increasing global average temperature of air and ocean, melting of snow, rising of ocean level, change in the rainfall pattern and extreme whether events such as drought, flood, heat waves, storms etc.