India’s crops are feeling the heat in a warming world
The humble banana is in a curious place right now.
Last month at the International Banana Congress (yes, that's a real thing) scientists spoke at length about a fungus—Black Sigatoka—ravaging banana crops in Central and South America.
Now, Black Sigatoka, capable of diminishing banana yields by up to 80%, is nothing new. If you've seen banana plants, you've probably seen it—withered black patches slowly eating away at the leaves. But what's especially worrying today is that climate change is causing weather conditions ideal for the spread of the infection. In the Americas, the risk of infection over the last half-century has increased by 50%.
I'm not here to tell you bananas are going extinct. In fact, rising global temperatures may even increase cropland for banana cultivation in the future. Then again, bananas need ample irrigation, something that will be increasingly difficult as conditions become more arid.
Like I said, a curious place.
The plight of the banana is a great example of the multi-dimensional ways in which climate change is affecting the various fruits and vegetables we take for granted.
Today's piece by Pradip isn't about bananas. But it is about the crops in India being affected by climate change in various ways. Chickpea, wheat, rice and apples, among others. All feeling the heat of the ever-worsening climate crisis.
In a country ranked 14th most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and where six out of ten farmers rely on rainfall to irrigate their crops, it's a reminder that climate change doesn't just threaten the habitats of animals in faraway lands, but the food on our plates, too.
Last month at the International Banana Congress (yes, that's a real thing) scientists spoke at length about a fungus—Black Sigatoka—ravaging banana crops in Central and South America.
Now, Black Sigatoka, capable of diminishing banana yields by up to 80%, is nothing new. If you've seen banana plants, you've probably seen it—withered black patches slowly eating away at the leaves. But what's especially worrying today is that climate change is causing weather conditions ideal for the spread of the infection. In the Americas, the risk of infection over the last half-century has increased by 50%.
I'm not here to tell you bananas are going extinct. In fact, rising global temperatures may even increase cropland for banana cultivation in the future. Then again, bananas need ample irrigation, something that will be increasingly difficult as conditions become more arid.
Like I said, a curious place.
The plight of the banana is a great example of the multi-dimensional ways in which climate change is affecting the various fruits and vegetables we take for granted.
Today's piece by Pradip isn't about bananas. But it is about the crops in India being affected by climate change in various ways. Chickpea, wheat, rice and apples, among others. All feeling the heat of the ever-worsening climate crisis.
In a country ranked 14th most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and where six out of ten farmers rely on rainfall to irrigate their crops, it's a reminder that climate change doesn't just threaten the habitats of animals in faraway lands, but the food on our plates, too.
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