Climate variability, trends, projections and their impact on different crops: A case study of Gujarat, India

Abstract

Gujarat, being a coastal state, is likely to be impacted by global warming and climate change not only due to sea level rise and salinity ingress but also due to an increase in the frequency of cyclonic storms and other extreme weather events, causing uncertainty in crop production. An attempt has therefore been made to understand the climate of Gujarat in the past, present, and future based on the works done at the Department of Agricultural Meteorology, Anand. Analysis carried out on climatic trends and climatic extremes using past available data from different stations in Gujarat has been highlighted. Crop simulation models validated with experimental data collected for different crops across Gujarat state were used to understand the response of crops to climatic variability. The climate change impact studies and adaptation strategies carried out under the NPCC project have also been highlighted. And lastly, the work done by the author as an emeritus scientist on climate projections under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 for all the districts of Gujarat and their likely impact on selected crops is presented. The results revealed that in the past, temperatures have shown increasing trends but not reached significant levels except at certain locations at night. Rainfall has also increased, but marginally. Future temperatures have been projected to increase in different parts of Gujarat under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 with varying magnitudes. Similarly, the rainfall has also been projected to increase, while the sunshine hours are projected to decrease. The ultimate impact would be a drastic reduction in yields in spite of the increase in CO2 level, suggesting that the present-day crop varieties would not be able to sustain crop production levels under a changing climatic scenario.

Keywords

• Climate change
• climate variability
• RCP4.5
• RCP 8.5
• Impact on crops
• Climatic extremes