A recent study suggests that replacing 40% of rice cultivation with other crops in north India could help recover significant groundwater loss since 2000. The current rice-dominated cropping patterns may aggravate groundwater depletion under global warming. The study indicates that switching crops could contribute to sustainability and increased profitability for regional farmers.

The research found that replacing around 40% of the area used to grow rice and other crops could recover 60-100 cubic kilometres of groundwater lost since 2000 in north India.

The study highlights that the current heavy reliance on groundwater for irrigating rice could lead to a further loss of about 13-43 cubic kilometres of groundwater if the earth continues to warm. The researchers, including experts from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gujarat, propose a shift in cropping patterns, suggesting they cut down on cultivating rice to sustain the fast-depleting water resource in the face of global warming.

The study’s authors point out that replacing 37% of rice cultivation with other crops could recover between 61 and 108 cubic kilometres of groundwater, compared to the 13 to 43 cubic kilometres that the current cropping pattern could save under global warming levels of 1.5-3 degrees Celsius. They emphasised crop switching could save more groundwater during extended dry periods predicted by global warming.

The study also considers the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Special Report, which suggests that if current trends continue, global warming could reach 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2050 and 3 degrees Celsius by 2100.

The researchers assert that changing crop patterns could significantly benefit the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh in sustaining groundwater and ensuring farmers’ profitability. Moreover, they found that switching crops would not substantially impact groundwater levels in states with low recovery rates, such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand.

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