Climate change augurs less rice yield, scientist says

In this day and age of climate change, there is more than just fish kill, floods and drought in the Philippines, according to a climate scientist of the Ateneo de Manila University. Dr. Gemma Narisma of the Ateneo’s Manila Observatory warns that warmer nights can affect the volume of rice harvests while overall higher temperatures make mosquitoes and pests breed more and faster, causing diseases to spread. “A study done at the International Rice Research Institute has shown that each one degree Centigrade increase in the minimum temperatures at night can decrease rice yield by about 10 percent, all else being equal," Narisma said in an interview with GMA News Online. However, she clarified that the effects of climate change vary from place to place. So, aside from the national level response, local governments must hone their disaster mitigation plans to the specific circumstances of their areas, Narisma said. “The changes in climate will not be uniform throughout the country. Some areas will have greater increases in temperature, some areas will be drier, some areas will have more extreme changes in rainfall," she stated. Narisma is the project leader of a regional climate systems project at the Manila Observatory, which runs the Klima Climate Change Center. She said research by Klima showed “it is more likely that intense heavy rainfall will be interspersed with prolonged dry periods." “Preliminary results of our climate projections indicate a wetter than normal rainy season. But we would like to analyze more results from different models so we can see the range of potential impact on rainfall in our country," Narisma said. — VS, GMA News