North India among climate change impact hotspots: Study

Zee Media Bureau

Washington: A new study by an international team of researchers has suggested that north India is among the few regions identified as ‘hotspots’ vulnerable to extreme climate changes, which in turn could lead to a fall in agricultural production and severe ecosystem changes. The study, based on the computer simulations of future climate scenarios, was conducted by the international researchers from Germany and was published in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. While the climate change ‘hotspots’ will be most widespread in southern Amazon, other regions include southern Europe, Ethopian highlands and North India. “In the hotspots such as northern India, the average production from maize, rice, soy and wheat in the future would be comparable to (yields in) years with extremely low production today”, said lead-author Franziska Piontek of Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The study has also claimed that the key sectors to be affected by climate change are agriculture, ecosystems, water and health.