Wu et al. (2026) Diverse Connections Between Climate Extremes and Agricultural Loss Across the Southern Slopes of the Himalayas

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Geophysical Research Letters
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-06-25
• Authors: Jiujiang Wu, Hongzheng Shen, Gaofei Yin, Xinyao Xie, Qianggong Zhang, Sravan Shrestha, Hongtao Wang, Y Yang, Wei Zhao
• DOI: 10.1029/2026gl123561

Research Groups

• Department of Agricultural Meteorology, University of Nepal
• Climate Change Research Group, Kathmandu University
• National Center for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), UK

Short Summary

This study investigates crop loss responses to drought, heat stress, and extreme precipitation in the Southern Slopes of the Himalaya under climate change. The research reveals that agricultural risk is structurally driven by cropping systems and multiple climate extremes.

Objective

• Investigate how different climate extremes affect crop productivity across various cropping systems in the SSH

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Regional scale, covering the entire Southern Slopes of the Himalaya (SSH)
• Temporal Scale: Long-term analysis (1980-2019), with a focus on recent trends and changes under climate change

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Statistical models for analyzing crop loss responses to climate extremes
• Data sources: Satellite-based data from NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites, combined with in-situ observations from the SSH region

Main Results

• Loss probability dominated crop productivity risk in 77% of the study area across all three climate extremes (drought, heat stress, and extreme precipitation)
• Double cropping exhibited a probability-dominated vulnerability pattern, whereas single cropping showed a magnitude-amplified pattern
• Drought remained the dominant regional risk source, but its contribution declined as extreme precipitation and heat stress became more important

Contributions

• This study provides new insights into how different climate extremes affect crop productivity across various cropping systems in the SSH region
• The findings highlight the importance of considering multiple climate extremes and their interactions with cropping systems for agricultural risk assessment and management

Funding

• Supported by the UK's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) through grant NE/P00658X/1
• Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under award #1736350

Citation

@article{Wu2026Diverse,
  author = {Wu, Jiujiang and Shen, Hongzheng and Yin, Gaofei and Xie, Xinyao and Zhang, Qianggong and Shrestha, Sravan and Wang, Hongtao and Yang, Y and Zhao, Wei},
  title = {Diverse Connections Between Climate Extremes and Agricultural Loss Across the Southern Slopes of the Himalayas},
  journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2026gl123561},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2026gl123561}
}