Extreme rainfall is taking a toll on China’s rice crops, and it could get much worse
- Chinese-led research reveals impacts of extreme events on rice yields and the sobering implications for the country’s food security
- More frequent extreme rainfall is damaging crops as much as extreme heat, study shows
Extreme rainfall has cut China’s rice yields by 8 per cent over the past two decades, according to a study led by Chinese researchers.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Food on May 4, found that the impact of extreme rainfall on rice yields was comparable to that of extreme heat.
Jian Yiwei, lead author of the study and a PhD candidate at Peking University, said extreme events were projected to be more intense in the future, which would pose an increasing threat to agricultural productivity.
“The aim of our study is to help people better understand extreme events – how do they affect crop production and what scientific and effective measures can be taken when extreme rainfall occurs,” she said.
According to the sixth Synthesis Report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in March, over the last 50 years, climate change has likely slowed growth in agricultural productivity across the globe.
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