Climate Change and the Agriculture Crisis

Farmers across north India faced an extremely hard time in early 2015 when unseasonal rain and hailstorm lashed through several states causing huge loss of rabi crops (mainly wheat, barley, maize, pulses, oilseeds, cumin) that were ready for harvest. Usually the month of February, March and April rarely receive rains but this year heavy rainfall and hails damaged more than 182 lakh (18.2 million) hectares of harvest, leading to suicide attempts by several farmers across India.