Research in the USA suggests that a combination of global warming and ‘brown cloud’ pollution made up of particulate matter and other pollutants from burning fossil fuels are significantly reducing the rice harvest in India.
According to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the crop could have been more than 14% larger between 1985 and 1998 if pollution levels were lower and there has been no sign of improvement in more recent years.
Sam Bond