Global warming is reducing rice yields in many parts of Asia, according to research, with more declines to come.
Increasing temperatures because of climate change will hit rice production in Asia, says a new study. Rising temperatures during the past 25 years have already cut the yield growth rate by 10-20 per cent in numerous locations.
"It has been found that as the daily minimum temperature increases, or as nights get hotter, rice yields drop," said Jarrod Welch, lead author of the report and graduate student of economics at the University of California, San Diego. A decline in rice production will mean more people will fall into poverty and hunger, the researchers said.
"Up to a point, higher day-time temperatures can amplify rice yield, but future yield losses caused by higher night-time temperatures will likely outweigh any such gains because temperatures are rising faster at night," said Welch. "And if day-time temperatures get too high, they too start to limit rice yields, causing an additional loss in production," he added.
A study published at the beginning of last year concluded that half of the world's population could countenance a climate-induced food crisis by 2100, with the most intense summers of the last century becoming routine towards the end of this century.
