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<p>The Indian Punjab, known for its role in national food security, witnessed a major agro-ecological shift to rice cultivation in the late 1960s. Of its three agricultural zones, the central plains zone comprising about 55 per cent of Punjab has a rice-intensive (&gt; 70% of the total land area is under rice in the summer months) cropping pattern. The two flanking zones (primarily the vegetable, maize and cotton growing regions) are relatively non-rice-intensive (46 and 40% of total land area under rice). The statistical analysis of meteorological parameters in these distinctive rice-intensive and non-rice intensive regions was conducted to evaluate if this shift is a contributor towards climate change in the state. A steep (0.054&#xa0;°C/year) and consistent (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.86) rise in minimum daily temperature (during summer months) was observed in rice-intensive regions, compared to non-significant changes in the two non-rice non-intensive regions in the years between 1970 and 2020. The directional change in maximum temperature was much less evident in all three areas. The rate and consistency of changes in minimum temperature, maximum relative humidity, diurnal range of temperature and pan evaporation were higher and more consistent during the initial phase of rapid expansion of rice area (1970–1995) as compared to the later phase (1996–2020) of slower increase in rice area. Physical properties and emissions associated with creating an almost contiguous water body of about 3 Mha for puddle-rice cultivation in the state provide plausible mechanisms for observed changes in the meteorological parameters. The likely role of rice cultivation on alterations observed in monsoon rainfall patterns in the region in terms of its magnitude and distribution are also discussed. So the study was conducted whether the 2.75Mha increase in area under rice in the last 50&#xa0;years (i.e. increase by nearly 705%) one of the key reason for climate change signatures in a small agrarian state in which 80% of area is under crop cultivation. The answer to this key question would be helpful for the policy planners while drafting the agri-policy for the highly productive state of India.</p>

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Rice cultivation a contributor to climate change in Indian Punjab – A perspective

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年2月5日

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  • Prabhjyot-Kaur,
  • Harleen Kaur,
  • N. S. Bains

摘要

The Indian Punjab, known for its role in national food security, witnessed a major agro-ecological shift to rice cultivation in the late 1960s. Of its three agricultural zones, the central plains zone comprising about 55 per cent of Punjab has a rice-intensive (> 70% of the total land area is under rice in the summer months) cropping pattern. The two flanking zones (primarily the vegetable, maize and cotton growing regions) are relatively non-rice-intensive (46 and 40% of total land area under rice). The statistical analysis of meteorological parameters in these distinctive rice-intensive and non-rice intensive regions was conducted to evaluate if this shift is a contributor towards climate change in the state. A steep (0.054 °C/year) and consistent (R2 = 0.86) rise in minimum daily temperature (during summer months) was observed in rice-intensive regions, compared to non-significant changes in the two non-rice non-intensive regions in the years between 1970 and 2020. The directional change in maximum temperature was much less evident in all three areas. The rate and consistency of changes in minimum temperature, maximum relative humidity, diurnal range of temperature and pan evaporation were higher and more consistent during the initial phase of rapid expansion of rice area (1970–1995) as compared to the later phase (1996–2020) of slower increase in rice area. Physical properties and emissions associated with creating an almost contiguous water body of about 3 Mha for puddle-rice cultivation in the state provide plausible mechanisms for observed changes in the meteorological parameters. The likely role of rice cultivation on alterations observed in monsoon rainfall patterns in the region in terms of its magnitude and distribution are also discussed. So the study was conducted whether the 2.75Mha increase in area under rice in the last 50 years (i.e. increase by nearly 705%) one of the key reason for climate change signatures in a small agrarian state in which 80% of area is under crop cultivation. The answer to this key question would be helpful for the policy planners while drafting the agri-policy for the highly productive state of India.