Warming temperatures, erratic rainfall and extreme weather events are reducing the yields of temperate fruit varieties like apples and peaches in Uttarakhand, prompting the farmers to switch to the cultivation of their tropical counterparts, a recent study by Climate Trends, a research consultancy on climate change, said. Once a leading producer of pear, peach, plum, apricot and apple in the country, Uttarakhand has seen the yield of major fruits plummet significantly in the past seven years, said the study conducted jointly by Palak Balyan, research lead at Climate Trends, and research associate Debdatta Chakraborty. The area under fruit cultivation in Uttarakhand dropped by 54 per cent between 2016 and 2023, while the total fruit yields fell by 44 per cent, it added.
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