Journal of Agrometeorology 

Abstract: Agriculture the major economic and social activity in the globe. It is understood that agriculture is highly sensitive to climatic variability and likely to be affected most to predicted climate change. The fourth assessment report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reconfirmed that the phenomenon of existence of climate change in recent decades is due to anthropogenic activities. It is also revealed the availability of wide array of adaptation options for agro-ecosystem to cope up with the impact of climate change. However, it is important to design more extensive adaptation strategies to reduce vulnerability of agriculture and rural poor to impacts of climate change. Climate change impacts and responses are presently observed as autonomous adaptation in the physical and ecological systems as well as in human adjustments to resource availability and risks at different spatial and trophic levels. But these strategies are not enough to reduce the current anthropogenic driven climate change, so there is a need to adopt the planned adaptation. This paper reviews the findings based on the series of studies carried across the globe on the potential adaptation strategies to alleviate the impact of climate change by improving the resilience of the agro-ecosystems. Adaptation strategies have to be in place to reduce vulnerability to climate change through developing consensus between industrialized countries and developing countries at global scale, whereas new public policies in place at national regional and local level is prudent to support adaptation research, insurances, incentives to farmers to adapt new technologies.

Abstract: The Penman-Monteith (P-M) equation with its new definition of reference crop evapotranspiration (ET0) is recommended by FAO as the standard method of crop water requirement calculation, and also to compare other methods The ET0 component of the CROPWAT model, which is based on the P-M equation, was examined for sensitivity to errors in input data under the environment of a semi-humid sub-tropic region of Bangladesh The results showed that the ET0 estimates are most sensitive to maximum temperature and least sensitive to minimum temperature The order of sensitivity noticed is: maximum temperature > relative humidity > sunshine duration > wind speed > minimum temperature The sensitivity coefficients showed seasonal variation The model parameter ‘Angstrom’s coefficients’ showed sensitivity to errors in single or pair values The implications of sensitivity to ET0 estimates and in selecting appropriate method for ET0 estimation in a data-short environment are discussed

Abstract: Climate change is one of the major challenges in 21st century faced by Agriculture in India, more so in the Semi-Arid Tropics (SAT) of the country. In recent years, natural and anthropogenic factors have impacted climate variability and contributed to a large extent to climate change. Based on one degree gridded data of India Meteorological Department (IMD) for 34 years (1971-2004), climatic water balances are computed for 351 pixels in India and used for classifying in to six climate types following Thornthwaite’s moisture regime classification and areas falling under different climatic zones in India are delineated. Considerable changes in the country’s climate area observed between the two periods; 1971-90 and 1991-2004. Increased semi-arid area by 8.45 M ha in five states viz., Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Punjab, and decreased semi-arid area by 5 M ha in eleven states, contributed to overall increase in SAT area of 3.45 M ha in the country.Overall, there has been a net reduction of 10.71 M ha in the dry sub-humid area in the country. Results indicated that dryness and wetness are increasing in different parts of the country in the place of moderate climates existing earlier in these regions. ICRISAT’s Hypothesis of Hope through Integrated Genetic and Natural Resources Management (IGNRM) using climate ready crops and Integrated Watershed Management could be a potential adaptation strategy by bridging the yield gaps for developing climate resilient agriculture in the country.