Climate Change & Heatwave: Effects On Indian Agriculture

India experienced its hottest March this year since the Indian Meteorological Department started recording weather data in 1901. April was no better and the heatwave continued, and 14 weather stations breached their previously registered highest temperature records.

The heatwave made global headlines as it scorched wheat crops at a time when the Russia-Ukraine war had made more countries dependent on wheat supplies from India. International wheat prices surged 6% after India banned wheat exports.

This year, scorching temperatures swept across India just as crops planted in the winter were ripening for harvest. The Agriculture Ministry estimates that around 20% of the wheat crop was damaged.

But it wasn’t just wheat that was affected. Horticulture crops such as guava and mango wilted, Chilli production has also dropped, and sugarcane fields caught fire during the last week of April because of the extreme temperatures. An unusually early heatwave across India has impacted the end-season mustard crop and raised worries among farmers about pulse crops such as urad, tur, and moong beans.

Eventually, the impact of the heatwave is seen more or less in all crops.

Although the heatwave this year has been particularly strong and uncommon – heatwaves are usually seen in May and June – these spells of increased and sometimes record-breaking temperatures are becoming the norm. Due to the severe conditions, agricultural workers too are not ready to work in the fields.

Data compiled by the India Meteorological Department shows that since 1901, 12 of the 15 warmest years were recorded during the past decade-and-a-half with 2016 being the warmest. A 2020 study that analysed the decadal patterns of heatwaves between 1951 and 2016 found an increase in the frequency as well as the affected geographical area.

Between 1951 and 1970, the country recorded an average of two to three heatwave events. But after the 1980s, the average number of heatwave events rose sharply and the area affected increased, the study found.

An analysis of the 2022 heatwave found that such an extreme event that usually takes place once in 100 years has become 30 times more probable due to the effects of climate change.

A global wheat crisis has made the world pay attention to India’s scorching temperatures. But more needs to be done to make agriculture climate resilient.

Urvara Krsi cultivates Ashwagandha in a contract farming model with farmers in Seoni and Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh, where we observed yield losses in terms of weight of the dried roots even while the volume of the crop produced is significant and at par with the previous years due to the sudden rise in temperatures during the month of March 2022 and continuing till the onset of monsoon.

Climate change is a terrible problem, said Bill Gates, and it absolutely needs to be solved. It deserves to be a huge priority.

He is right. The climate crises is the greatest challenge mankind faces globally, and it must reserve our immediate attention.

Urvara Krsi

Urvara Krsi promotes sustainable and environment-conscious cultivation of niche agricultural crops and agroforestry. We engage in the production & supply of high-quality planting stock and technology to farmers, and are a leading agricultural raw material provider to agro-based industries.

Incorporated in 2019, Urvara Krsi currently operates in four states of India: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh. We have three (3) main Business verticals, viz. Commercial Agroforestry, Cultivation of Agricultural crops in contract farming models, and Agricultural Consultancy.

Through our B2B consultancy services, we cater to companies looking to enhance their farmer network, strengthen their R&D, and experiment with new crops and geographies by enabling clients to collaborate closely with local communities to identify new crops, launch pilot projects, and set up dedicated, cost-effective cultivation programs.

Urvara Krsi acts as the opportunity bridge between small-holder farmers and industrial buyers exploring new geographies with backward linkages through farmers’ networks.

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