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November 04, 2014

04/11/2014: Air pollution reduces India's potential grain yields by half, study claims

by Chris Arsenault at Reuters

Air pollution seems to have a direct, negative impact on grain production in India, a study warned on Monday, with recent increases in smog decreasing projected yields by half.ii
 


Analysing 30 years of data, scientists developed a statistical model suggesting that air pollution caused wheat yields in densely populated states to be 50 percent lower than what they could have been in 2010.

Up to 90 percent of the decrease in potential food production seems linked to smog, made up of black carbon and other pollutants, the study said.

Changes linked to global warming and precipitation levels accounted for the other 10 percent.

"The numbers are staggering," Jennifer Burney, an author of the study and scientist at the University of California told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"We hope our study puts the potential benefits on cleaning up the air on the table," she said, noting that agriculture is often not considered when governments debate the economic costs of air pollution and new legislation aimed at combating it.


Read more HERE.
 

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