The agricultural production system is highly dependent on inter and intra-seasonal variability in weather and climate. Climate decides the crops and cropping pattern of a place while weather decides their productivity. Climate change is now a reality as evident from the singnificant increase in CO2 concentration  (403 ppm) and global mean temperature (*0.870C over mean of l951-1980). Arctic sea ice is decreasing @ l 3.4%; Antarctic mass is decreasing @ 134 billion metric tons per year while sea level is increasing @ 3.42 mm per year. March and April 2016 have been reported to be the globally warmest months in the history. The climate change has resulted in increase in extreme weather events viz droughts and floods; cold and heat waves, cyclones and hailstorms etc with a large spatial and temporal variation, and this would continue to increase in future also. Therefore agricultural production system is bound to be affected by this large variability in climatic parameters resulting in extreme weather events. The changes in temperature and rainfall pattern directly affect the crop growth, development and yield leading to change in crops and cropping pattern. The indirect effect of climatic parameters on crops are through availability of water and increase in biotic and abiotic stresses. The livestock, poultry and fisheries are also affected by the variability in climatic element through changes in their feed intake capacity, growth and thereby production. Up to some extent, the agriculture sector also contribute to global warming and climate change through GHG emission. India is no exception, as Himalaya glacier is retreating, frequent flood and droughts are apparent, and irregularity in monsoon rainfall and occurrence of frost and hailstorms in different parts of the country has increased in recent past. Recent studies with climate models indicate adverse effect on Indian agriculture due to moisture stress. Past data have already alarmed the decrease in length of growing period in some part of the country. Under these circumstances, the food security is also a challenge under changing climate India.


           Thus in order to understand the intricate relationship between climatic variability and food production system, the agrometeorological knowledge needs to be applied, for better management of farm resources, for minimizing the losses and thereby increasing the productivity.


National symposium "AGMET-2016"