Cement, Energy and Environment

The ICAR said the winter onion crop in Maharashtra in 1997 failed due to high temperatures during the crop's "bulb formation" stage and, in 1998, due to Purple Blotch and Stemphylium Blight diseases, which were "induced by high rainfall". Rising temperatures and unpredictable monsoon are two major threats looming over the farms, evidence culled from long-term ICAR studies suggests. The ICAR also said the apple belts of Himachal Pradesh were shifting upwards due to warmer temperatures between November and March. The June-September monsoon is a critical for India, Asia's third biggest economy, as two-thirds of Indians depend on agriculture. Last year, the farm economy was hammered by a severe drought, the worst in three decades. • Rising temperatures and unpredictable monsoon are two major threats. • Onion crop Maharashtra due to in failed high temperatures in 1997 and high rainfall in 1998. • Apple belts of Himachal are shifting upwards because of warmer weather. Patchy rains last year - 22 per cent deficient - cut rice output by 14 per cent and sugar by 13 per cent. It set food prices soaring, which had risen to an 11-year high of 19.95 per cent on December 5 last year. The monsoon is also vital to maintain levels in 81 centrally monitored reservoirs, critical for irrigation, power and drinking. The levels dipped below the 10- year average this month. Extreme temperatures and heat spells could alter patterns of monsoon rains, vital for India's agriculture and water needs. Scientists warn that India will experien<~e a decline in summer rainfall by 2050. "Situation will substantially worsen by 2050, marked by higher temperatures, less precipitation , depending on where in South Asia you are," G. Nelson of the Washington– based International Food Policy Research Institute, who completed a study on climate change's impact on South Asia, told HT. Courtesy: The Hindustan Times, June 3, 2010, P11. HEAVY HIMALAYAN SNOWFALL CAUSE OF DROUGHT IN INDIA Reading University, one of UK's leading research centres, claims to have solved a riddle that has perplexed scientists since the 19 1 h century. An intensive study carried out by it has reached the conclusion that heavy snowfall over the Himalayas in winter and spring can be the direct cause of drought in India, especially in the early part of the summer monsoon. Given that last winter was quite severe and mammoth quantities of snow may have fallen on the Himalayan range, all concerned in the Indian agrarian sector need to be vigilant about a delayed monsoon and plan accordingly. These findings are highly significant because Indian agriculture is heavily dependent on early rainfall; a lack of this in the crucial growing season tends to have a devastating impact on crops, as was experienced last year. The work is a part of Reading's Climate Programme of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science. Courtesy: TERI (The Energy Resources lnstitute)16-30 Apri/2010, P14. SOILS ARE BREATHING FASTER The list of potential carbon emitters keeps growing The soil-to-air cycle of carbon dioxide or, more precisely, soil respiration is a major source of carbon dioxide emission. The soil is 1:kely to respire even faster in future as temperatures rise due to global warming. Plants photosynthesize during the day and produce oxygen from carbon dioxide. At night a different metabolic cycle takes place which result in the release of carbon dioxide. This, along with microbial respiration and chemical processes that lead to oxidation of soil minerals are the ways in which the soil respires. Ecologist Ben Bond- Lamberty and his colleague, Allison Thomson, at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducted a study to prove the soil-to-air carbon cycle is accelerating, meaning the exchange of carbon dioxide between soil and air is occurring faster. They estimated the total emission due to soil respiration was 98 billion metric tonnes, or 98 petagrammes (1petagrammes is 10 14 grammes) in 2008. The number rose 15 per cent in the last 20 years. The duo went through data from 306 studies conducted on soil respiration between 1989 42