A new study has reported that global warming is threatening Asian rice production. Researchers from the US, the Philippines and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) looked at the impact of rising daily temperatures on irrigated rice production on 277 farms in six important rice-producing countries in Asia.

The study found that as daily minimum temperatures increase, and nights get hotter, that rice yields drop. Whilst higher temperatures during the day led to higher yields, the loss of yield from the warmer nights had a greater impact overall.

The lead researcher, Jarrod Welch, said that whilst higher yields were seen during the daytime, the daytime temperatures had not reached a level that would be damaging to crop yield, as previous research has indicated would occur.

The study projects on the implications of the research findings saying, “looking ahead, they imply a net negative impact on yield from moderate warming in coming decades.”

The research was carried out between 1994-1999 on irrigation rice farms in China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.