Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology
Question
Asked 28th Aug, 2023
How much does India contribute to climate change and how can we reduce the impact of climate change on food security?
How much does India contribute to climate change and how can we reduce the impact of climate change on food security?
Most recent answer
Climate change reduces crop yields and lower nutrition quality of produce. Extreme events like droughts affect the food and nutrient consumption, and its impact on farmers. Government of India has formulated schemes/plans to make agriculture more resilient to climate change. Climate change has been found to have an impact on food safety, particularly on incidence and prevalence of food-borne diseases. Increased climate variability, increased frequency and intensity of extreme events as well as slow ongoing changes will affect the stability of food supply, access and utilization. Malnutrition, water shortages, low output per acre, and climate change will be major challenges ahead. The Global Food Policy 2022 report by the International Food Policy Research Institute estimates that climate change could escalate the hunger issue amongst Indians by 2030. Invest in food storage systems that can withstand extreme weather events. Diversify food sources and agricultural production techniques to reduce risk. Adopt water management systems that reduce crop damage from floods or droughts. Due to concerns with gender inequality, poverty, a lack of education, and overpopulation, the children are food insecure. One of the main causes is poverty, which restricts the amount of food that youngsters can access. The sheer volume of CO₂ emitted by coal-fired power plants makes the electric power sector the largest source of GHGs in India. The second-largest contributor is the agriculture sector, which produces huge amounts of methane (CH₄) from rice paddies and cattle. India has the world's highest social cost of carbon. A report by the London-based global think tank Overseas Development Institute found that India may lose anywhere around 3–10% of its GDP annually by 2100 and its poverty rate may rise by 3.5% in 2040 due to climate change. Climate change has been found to have an impact on food safety, particularly on incidence and prevalence of food-borne diseases. Increased climate variability, increased frequency and intensity of extreme events as well as slow ongoing changes will affect the stability of food supply, access and utilization. High temperatures, changing precipitation levels, and extreme weather conditions such as droughts, floods, cyclones, etc. will reduce agricultural productivity. Unsustainable agricultural practices lead to soil erosion, eventually leading to a drastic loss in yields. It destroys land and crops, kills livestock, depletes fisheries, and cuts off transport to markets which further impacts food production, availability, diversity, access, and safety. At the same time, food systems also impact the environment and are a driver of climate change.
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Popular answers (1)
University of Tunis El Manar
The notion of water security in an arid country takes on another dimension when the comprehensive water balance concept is applied to water used by rain-fed agriculture and to the water equivalent of international food exchanges. In the case of Tunisia, this concept expands the prospects for improvements in national food security by optimizing the food balance and the corresponding virtual water flux. It also prompts reconsideration of criteria and indicators classically used to characterize water stress situations. The current situation shows that about 30% of the water used in Tunisia is imported as food (virtual water); that number is likely to reach 40–50% in 2025 due to climate change, diet change, demographic growth, and improved water management. Asia and North Africa will most likely not be self-sufficient in terms of food production and will need to import food from other continents (e.g., South America). Africa, however, could be self-sufficient if its existing water resources are developed. Bioenergy production is likely to be limited to a small fraction of the global energy needs. Major food shortages in cases of severe global droughts (e.g., during very strong El Niño events) may occur, however, with severe consequences in terms of food availability.
Excerpt from: Besbes, M., Chahed, J., Hamdane, A., & De Marsily, G. (2010). Changing water resources and food supply in arid zones: Tunisia. Water and Sustainability in Arid Regions: Bridging the Gap Between Physical and Social Sciences, 103-121. Available on:
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All Answers (8)
University of Baghdad
Humans play a major role in the climate changes that occur, and India is one of the countries characterized by a large and growing population
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology
India is responsible for 0.08 degrees Celsius of warming from the 1850s through 2021, a new study estimated. India's emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from 1851-2021 have resulted in 0.04°C, 0.03°C and 0.006°C of global warming over pre-industrial levels, respectively. High temperatures, changing precipitation levels, and extreme weather conditions such as droughts, floods, cyclones, etc. will reduce agricultural productivity. Unsustainable agricultural practices lead to soil erosion, eventually leading to a drastic loss in yields. India is a fast-growing large economy, and the Indian government has made bold commitments to transition to RE and reduce emissions. This has already helped accelerate private sector involvement in the green sectors of the economy, driving technology adoption and advancements. Climate change reduces crop yields and lower nutrition quality of produce. Extreme events like droughts affect the food and nutrient consumption, and its impact on farmers. Government of India has formulated schemes/plans to make agriculture more resilient to climate change.Invest in food storage systems that can withstand extreme weather events. Diversify food sources and agricultural production techniques to reduce risk. Adopt water management systems that reduce crop damage from floods or droughts. Plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, nuts, and lentils generally use less energy, land, and water, and have lower greenhouse gas intensities than animal-based foods. Here are three charts showing the carbon footprint of different food products. Climate change has been found to have an impact on food safety, particularly on incidence and prevalence of food-borne diseases. Increased climate variability, increased frequency and intensity of extreme events as well as slow ongoing changes will affect the stability of food supply, access and utilization. High temperatures, changing precipitation levels, and extreme weather conditions such as droughts, floods, cyclones, etc. will reduce agricultural productivity. Unsustainable agricultural practices lead to soil erosion, eventually leading to a drastic loss in yields. When there is a disaster or a calamity, the production of food grains decreases in the affected area. This in turn creates a shortage of food in the area. Due to the food shortage, the prices go up. The raised prices of food materials affect the capacity of many people to buy the same.
University of Tunis El Manar
The notion of water security in an arid country takes on another dimension when the comprehensive water balance concept is applied to water used by rain-fed agriculture and to the water equivalent of international food exchanges. In the case of Tunisia, this concept expands the prospects for improvements in national food security by optimizing the food balance and the corresponding virtual water flux. It also prompts reconsideration of criteria and indicators classically used to characterize water stress situations. The current situation shows that about 30% of the water used in Tunisia is imported as food (virtual water); that number is likely to reach 40–50% in 2025 due to climate change, diet change, demographic growth, and improved water management. Asia and North Africa will most likely not be self-sufficient in terms of food production and will need to import food from other continents (e.g., South America). Africa, however, could be self-sufficient if its existing water resources are developed. Bioenergy production is likely to be limited to a small fraction of the global energy needs. Major food shortages in cases of severe global droughts (e.g., during very strong El Niño events) may occur, however, with severe consequences in terms of food availability.
Excerpt from: Besbes, M., Chahed, J., Hamdane, A., & De Marsily, G. (2010). Changing water resources and food supply in arid zones: Tunisia. Water and Sustainability in Arid Regions: Bridging the Gap Between Physical and Social Sciences, 103-121. Available on:
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University of Tunis El Manar
The arid zone is a geographical and climatic reality and our ancestors naturally adapted to it. This figure shows a shot of the olive groves of Chaal in Sfax (Tunisia): Olive trees as far as the eye can see, cultivated without the slightest drop of irrigation water, produce Olive-Oil of exceptional quality under rainfall of less than 250 mm per year. The same goes for Pistachio trees in Iran, Fig trees, and Almond trees... around the Mediterranean, all cultivated under rainfed conditions.
Figure source: A Conceptual Model for National Water Security in Water-Scarce Countries, By Jamel Chahed International Workshop on Water Security and Technology Innovation in Hydro-Environmental Engineering July 13, 2023. Available on:
Conference Paper A Conceptual Model for National Water Security in Water-Scar...
See Also
"National water security– Case study of an arid country, Tunisia (Authors: Besbes, Chahed Hamdane), Springer (2019) 4:11". The Previous French version of the book is available in chapters on:
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Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology
Climate change reduces crop yields and lower nutrition quality of produce. Extreme events like droughts affect the food and nutrient consumption, and its impact on farmers. Government of India has formulated schemes/plans to make agriculture more resilient to climate change. Climate change has been found to have an impact on food safety, particularly on incidence and prevalence of food-borne diseases. Increased climate variability, increased frequency and intensity of extreme events as well as slow ongoing changes will affect the stability of food supply, access and utilization. Malnutrition, water shortages, low output per acre, and climate change will be major challenges ahead. The Global Food Policy 2022 report by the International Food Policy Research Institute estimates that climate change could escalate the hunger issue amongst Indians by 2030. Invest in food storage systems that can withstand extreme weather events. Diversify food sources and agricultural production techniques to reduce risk. Adopt water management systems that reduce crop damage from floods or droughts. Due to concerns with gender inequality, poverty, a lack of education, and overpopulation, the children are food insecure. One of the main causes is poverty, which restricts the amount of food that youngsters can access. The sheer volume of CO₂ emitted by coal-fired power plants makes the electric power sector the largest source of GHGs in India. The second-largest contributor is the agriculture sector, which produces huge amounts of methane (CH₄) from rice paddies and cattle. India has the world's highest social cost of carbon. A report by the London-based global think tank Overseas Development Institute found that India may lose anywhere around 3–10% of its GDP annually by 2100 and its poverty rate may rise by 3.5% in 2040 due to climate change. Climate change has been found to have an impact on food safety, particularly on incidence and prevalence of food-borne diseases. Increased climate variability, increased frequency and intensity of extreme events as well as slow ongoing changes will affect the stability of food supply, access and utilization. High temperatures, changing precipitation levels, and extreme weather conditions such as droughts, floods, cyclones, etc. will reduce agricultural productivity. Unsustainable agricultural practices lead to soil erosion, eventually leading to a drastic loss in yields. It destroys land and crops, kills livestock, depletes fisheries, and cuts off transport to markets which further impacts food production, availability, diversity, access, and safety. At the same time, food systems also impact the environment and are a driver of climate change.
1 Recommendation
Similar questions and discussions
Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change: "Temporal Paradox" versus "Chronology Protection Conjecture".
At what time scale should we consider the priority measures to be implemented in order to ensure the protection of natural resources and guarantee their sustainability? (i) direct and urgent measures associated with the modes of exploitation and development of resources ; (ii) indirect and very long-term implications of Climate Change on the potential of resources. Has everything been done on (i) to decree that it is urgent to tackle (ii) head-on with all its uncertainties, particularly with regard to time scales involved, incompatible with the scales of concrete actions?
Is it absurd to assume, like for the evolution of species and their adaptations to natural changes of all kinds, that adaptations and resilience to the effects of climate change should readjust themselves, to changes in natural conditions, which by definition are very slow and loaded with uncertainties?
Moral: what are the urgent actions for scientists, decision-makers, actors, and active civil societies, and on what issues should scientific, technical, and financial resources should be concentrated?
I would be glad to exchange ideas on this important matter. To start the discussion, I will begin by giving some examples from Tunisia (ranked among the countries that suffer the most from lack of water).
Example 1- On the adaptation of Tunisian olive groves to bioclimatic conditions: The olive tree has been cultivated in Tunisia since Roman times under different bioclimatic conditions in exclusively rainfed groves: in the south with less than 250 mm of rainfall and in the north with more than 600 mm [1]. Apart from the different olive tree species in each of the regions, it is clear that the density of olive trees is strictly correlated with rainfall, ranging from 16 olive trees per hectare in the South to nearly a hundred olive trees per hectare in the North; so that it is possible to faithfully superimpose the density map of olive trees on the map of isohyets. Empirically, over millennia and outside of any protocol or procedure, the peasants have naturally adapted to the natural conditions of the environment and it is difficult to imagine that things can be otherwise.
Example 2- On floods and hydraulic disorders: Indigenous, Carthaginian, Roman, and Muslim cities were, without exception, located high up, sheltered from flooding (they were unfortunately not immune to drought). The centrifugal developments of urban agglomerations during the last century have reached flood zones. The transformation of watersheds and the artificialization of the water cycle have increased the concentration of flows so that flooding has become a national plague. What are the urgent actions: (i) to rethink territory development and planning for better resilience to flooding or (ii) tackle the impact of climate change on the frequencies of floods, admittedly real but at much larger time scales which escapes the scales of concrete actions.
Example 3- On groundwater overexploitation and aquifers depletion: Most of the groundwater is subjected to disastrous overexploitation leading to drawdowns and irreversible degradation of water quality. Some aquifers are withdrawn at more than 250% of the average recharge rate and the oases of the South draw on very weakly renewable “fossil” aquifers to produce dates sold at prices ranging between $ 1 and $ 3 (approximately 8 m3 of water are required to produce 1 kg of dates) [2]. Coastal aquifers in the Cap-Bon region are used in the production of citrus fruits sold at less than $ 1 per kg. The aquifers are stressed to such an extent that marine intrusion has, in some cases, resulted in definitive depletion of the resource. If the decision-makers and the scientific community do not put urgently all their human and material resources and all the scientific and technical means, to solve this nagging problem; well, the time needed to define and put in place measures of resilience and adaptation to the hypothetical effects of Climate Change on groundwater recharge will be more than enough for the squandering of these resources to be total and definitive as it is already the case of certain coastal aquifers.
[1](5) (PDF) Alleviating water scarcity by optimizing "Green Virtual-Water": the case of Tunisia (researchgate.net)
[2](4) National Water Security, Case Study of an Arid Country: Tunisia | Request PDF (researchgate.net).
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There is an urgent need for a comprehensive examination of the impact of climate change on food security.
