Agrometeorology in Extreme Events and Natural Disasters by H. P. Das

Despite the current technological advancement, agriculture being a vital source of livelihood, was essentially dependent on weather and climate, and is adversely affected by the weather and climate related extreme events. Over the past few decades, extreme events such as droughts, floods, storms, tropical cyclones and forest fires have destroyed economic and social infrastructure and at the same time endangered food security. The agricultural sector is affected through the impact on water resources, damage to crops, rangelands and forests due to incidence of droughts, locust plagues and wilde and fires. Given the current recognition of the importance of preparedness to cope with risks and uncertainties associated with climate extremes, it is important to develop suitable and sustainable strategies to alleviate the impact of natural disasters on crop productivity. Improved forecast accuracy and more focused information on the location, intensity and duration of climate extremes could underpin efforts to implement more effective risk management strategies. It is crucial that governments exercise their sovereign responsibility to prepare and issue early warnings of extreme events in a timely and effective manner to reduce their impact on agricultural production. While natural hazards may not be avoided, integration of risk assessment and early warnings, prevention and mitigation measures including community capacity building and livelihood strategies, can prevent them from becoming disasters. There is also a need to develop locally agrometeorological adaptation strategies to reduce the effect of natural disasters especially in vulnerable regions where food and fibre production is most sensitive and vulnerable to climatic fluctuations. This proposed book based on state of the art knowledge on the science and application of agricultural meteorology needed to better cope with extreme climate events, should be of interest to all organizations and agencies engaged in planning disaster reduction strategies and management for prevention and mitigation of extreme events. The publication will also be of equal interest to the agrometeorologists of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services of the countries throughout the globe as well as to the agricultural planners, meteorologists associated with public weather services, forest fire forecasters, and the various departments of governments concerned with agriculture and food production.
Contents:
1. Agrometeorology in Extreme Events and Natural Disasters – An Overview 2. Drought and Desertification 3. Irrigation Scheduling to Combat Moisture Deficit in Plants 4. Heavy Rains, Floods, Hail and Snow and their Impact on Agriculture 5. Tropical Cyclones, Storm Surges, Thunderstorms, Tornadoes and Squalls: Implications for Agriculture 6. Agrometeorology Related to Extreme Temperatures, Heat Waves and Frost 7. Wind Storms and Sand/Dust Storms and their Effect on Environment and Plants 8. Forest- and Bush-Fire and their Impact on the Environment 9. Pests and Diseases of Crops and Livestock 10. Environmental and Agricultural Implications of Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Volcanic Eruptions 11. Community Capacity Building and Livelihood Strategies in Disaster Management and Mitigation of Adverse Impacts on Agricultural Sector 12. Role of Agricultural Chemicals on Soil, Water and Air Pollution and their Effects on Plants, Livestock and Aquatic Systems 13. Climate Change, Extreme Events and Change in Cryosphere: Implications for Agriculture and Environment 14. Impact of Extreme Events and Natural Disasters and Risk Management in Agriculture:...