Reductions in India's crop yield due to ozone

This bottom-up modeling study, supported by emission inventories and crop production, simulates ozone on local to regional scales. It quantifies, for the first time, potential impact of ozone on district-wise cotton, soybeans, rice, and wheat crops in India for the first decade of the 21st century. Wheat is the most impacted crop with losses of 3.5±0.8 million tons (Mt), followed by rice at 2.1±0.8 Mt, with the losses concentrated in central and north India. On the national scale, this loss is about 9.2% of the cereals required every year (61.2 Mt) under the provision of the recently implemented National Food Security Bill (in 2013) by the Government of India. The nationally aggregated yield loss is sufficient to feed about 94 million people living below poverty line in India. Key Points Ozone-induced crop damage is sufficient to fed 94 million people in India Variability in NOx inventories introduces up to 36% uncertainty in crop loss NOx should be the primary target for reducing pollution impacts on food security