Impact of climate change as perceived by respondents of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our times, as it has the potential to disrupt and even threaten the existence of human civilization. Changes in weather patterns, rise in sea levels, changes in agricultural zones, spread of tropical diseases, change in availability of fresh water, floods, droughts, heat waves, storms, hurricanes etc. are other serious impacts of climate change. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report, 2016, the failure to mitigate and adapt to climate change will be “the most impactful risk” facing communities worldwide in the coming decade-ahead even of weapons of mass destruction and water crises (Cooper, 2016). The present comparative study was conducted in the purposively selected Haryana state and Himachal Pradesh state to know the impact of climate change. One district from each state i.e., Hisar from Haryana and Shimla from Himachal Pradesh were selected at random. A total sample of 240 farm families, 40 from each village (total six village, 1 village from each block) was selected purposively comprising of 120 farm families of Hisar district and 120 of Shimla district. Regarding impact of climate change on crop production as perceived by respondents, data showed that in Haryana maximum impact was perceived in case of more type and number of insect/pest/diseases followed by decrease in soil fertility whereas, in Himachal Pradesh, maximum impact was perceived in case of more type and number of insect/pest/diseases followed by poor quality and taste of production. In case of impact of climate change on animal husbandry as perceived by respondents, in Haryana high impact was perceived in case of high temperature affects health of livestock followed by increased water consumption in animals whereas, in Himachal Pradesh, majority of the respondents perceived maximum impact on low milk production followed by reduced reproduction efficiency. In respect of impact of climate change on human health as perceived by respondent’s data explained that in Haryana, majority of the respondents of Haryana perceived maximum impact on new viruses, insects etc. followed by increased incidence of diseases whereas, in Himachal Pradesh, maximum respondents perceived impact on increased incidence of diseases followed by psychological stress. Regarding impact of climate change on food and nutrition security as perceived by respondents, result showed that majority of the respondents of Haryana perceived maximum impact on high price of food followed by food stored for consumption get damaged, whereas, in Himachal Pradesh, maximum respondents perceived high impact on less availability of food followed by high price of food. Overall the farmers perceived moderate impact of climate change on agriculture and animal husbandry and high on human health.