How climate change is affecting weather of Jammu & Kashmir?

The average temperature in Jammu and Kashmir has risen over the past 28 years due to climate change, a senior official said on Friday. He said that agriculture is the only sector that can help reduce poverty by increasing income and food security for 80 percent of the world's poor population.

Average temperature increased

"J&K is also experiencing the brunt of climate change and the average temperature over the past 28 years has risen by 2.32°C and 1.45°C in Jammu and Kashmir region respectively," said Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Atal Dulloo, after opening a two-day international conference on "existing climate change scenario and its emerging risks" here.

In 2014, we witnessed a devastating flood situation in Kashmir and almost every year due to untimely rains, rice crops in Jammu and apples in Kashmir suffer huge losses, he added saying we should prepare ourselves and our farmers to adapt to this climate. changes so they don't suffer on the economic front.

"We should be preparing ourselves and our farmers to adapt to these climate changes so they don't suffer on the economic front," Dulloo said. He said that agriculture is an integral part of the world economy and is the lifeline of underdeveloped and developing countries like India.

Future of farmers threatened

"But today, the prosperity of agriculture and the future of our farmers are threatened by many looming challenges, including climate change, that must be addressed collectively," he added.

He said that agriculture is an integral part of the world economy and is the lifeline of underdeveloped and developing countries like India.

"But today, the prosperity of agriculture and the future of our farmers are threatened by many looming challenges, including climate change, that must be addressed collectively," he added.

ACS said that the yield of rainfed and irrigated rice in India is projected to decline by 2.5% and 7%, respectively, by 2050.

In addition, wheat yields are projected to decline by 6 to 25 percent and maize yields by 18 to 23 percent in 2100, he added.

Brunt of climate change

ACS said that J&K is also experiencing the brunt of climate change with the average mean temperature over the past 28 years rising by 2.32°C and 1.45°C in the Jammu and Kashmir region, respectively.

Dulloo reported that the government has formed a high-powered committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Mangla Rai, former Director General of ICAR and DARE Secretary to formulate a comprehensive policy for holistic agricultural development in J&K.

He thanked the vice-chancellors of both agricultural colleges for playing a leading role in writing proposals aimed at improving farmer incomes at J&K. He said that SKUAST Jammu is a hub of various technological innovations in the field of agriculture and has achieved numerous milestones under the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Professor JP Sharma.

Important points

• Irrigated rice, wheat and mustard productions may be reduced by 6%, 4% and 4%, respectively.

•  The deficit in food production in the Kashmir region has reached 40 %, while the deficit is 30 % in vegetable production and 69 % in oilseed production, putting food security at a greater risk.

•  Invasion of weeds in the croplands and those are regularly weeded out by the farmers.

•  Increased frequency of insect-pest attacks Declines in crop yield.

•  More and more paddy land is being converted to rain-fed orchard or dry land. The huge chunk of paddyland has been converted into rain-fed dryland in the districts of Anantnag, Baramulla, Bandipora, Badgam, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian in recent years.

• The area under apple cultivation increased however yield per hectare has significantly declined during the past decades.

Climate change in the Kashmir Valley

According to a research titled “Projection of climate change in the Kashmir Valley”, carried out by the University of Agriculture of the region, the states of Jammu and Kashmir suffer from the impact of climate change. The study predicts that in this area there will be an increase in the number of rainy days by 2030.

“Similarly, annual temperatures are expected to increase over the next century compared to the base period of 1970. The Special Report on Emission Scenarios forecasts an increase in annual maximum and minimum temperatures as well as rainfall for the region.”

Over the years, the valley has experienced erratic patterns of rainfall. According to the Meteorological Department (MeT) data in Srinagar, in the first five months of 2022, Kashmir witnessed a rainfall deficit of 38 per cent.

The data shows that the Kashmir Valley has experienced a significant deficit of pre-monsoon rainfall in the past few years. From March 1 to May 31, 2022, the region received 99.5 mm of rainfall, which is 70 per cent less than the average. In comparison, there was a decrease of 16, 28, 35 and 26% respectively between March and May of each of the following years-2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

India’s rice production could decline

India’s paddy output in the crop year 2022-23 could decline to 128.5 million tonnes (MT) mainly due to poor monsoon rains, especially in eastern regions, the United States Department of Agriculture said. United States (USDA).

The reduction in the rice production forecast is based on a reduction of 1 million hectares in the harvested area at 46 MH. India’s rice exports are projected to rise to a record 22 MT in 2022-23 and account for 40% of global shipments despite a possible drop in domestic production over the period, the India Department of Agriculture said. India exported rice to more than 100 countries in 2021-22.

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