The temperature in Uttarakhand is likely to increase by 2.5 to 4.5 degrees Celsius by 2070-99 in the absence of immediate efforts, which among other repercussions will also have a severe effect on agriculture in this mountain State, predicts the State Action Plan of Uttarakhand on Climate Change drafted after deliberations at a workshop on agriculture and climate change organised by PAIRVI, Oxfam India and Uttaranchal Development Institute in Dehradun earlier this year.
The increase in temperature will be more prominent during the rabi season (December, January, and February) in the mid and high mountainous regions of Uttarakhand. The increasing temperature and decreasing precipitation during rabi season will make agriculture more difficult. The temperature increase during kharif season (June, July, and August) will be more prominent in the plains and low mountainous regions of Uttarakhand.
According to AK Jha, an environmental activist working with PAIRVI, the impacts of temperature rise predicted in the State Action Plan are manifesting faster and in more ways than predicted. Farmers are overwhelmingly finding climate change a serious concern as most of them are bewildered by the change in the temperature, rainfall, snowfall patterns and do not know how to react to it. Farmers unable to adapt further are migrating to slums in the cities. Apple growers are hard hit as they say that the apple growing line has moved more than 1,000 feet higher in the mountainous regions.
Apple grower from Joshimath in Chamoli, PS Sanwal, said his village is at an altitude of 6,500 feet, but now apples do not grow at an altitude of less than 7,500 feet. Snowfall in January is must for apples, as it must remain in sub zero temperature for 100 hours but with snowfall becoming rare in this period, the apple production has declined.
Another apple grower SC Rawat from Naugaon, Uttarkashi feels that apple growers suffered loss of up to 70 per cent during the last two seasons due to climatic changes and reduced productivity of soil. The apathetic attitude of the government towards apple cultivation in Uttarkhand is also a major factor responsible for declining fortunes of apple growers in Uttarakhand.
Farmers feel that the organic farming and mixed farming are best adaptation practice for overcoming climate change impacts.