The Global Food Policy Report 2022 by the International Food Policy Research Institute has warned about climate change pushing more Indians towards hunger by 2030 due to a dip in agricultural production and food supply chain disruption. Over nine crore Indians will be at risk of hunger by 2030 due to climate change. This is a 23% increase in the ‘at risk’ population, which will stand at 7.39 crore in normal circumstances. India’s aggregate food production – an index, by weight, of cereals, meats, fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, pulses, roots and tubers – is likely to fall from 1.627 in normal circumstances to 1.549 if climate change is factored into. The average temperature across India is projected to rise between 2.4 degree C and 4.4 degree C by 2100. Summer heat waves are also projected to triple or quadruple by 2100, the report notes. The report suggests switching from rice to other crops in the “water-scarce northwest and peninsular India to reduce greenhouse emissions”. “The area under rice could be reduced in the region without threatening food security,” it notes.
Source: ndtv.com