-The Economic Times A decline in paddy production in eastern states and Andhra Pradesh has triggered speculation of a lower rice output this year, stoking a 10-30% spike in prices at a time when high vegetable prices have pushed inflation to a seven-month high. Floods and incessant rains in major rice producing states such as West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh during the harvesting period have affected the paddy crop. Talking to...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Unchecked climate change, scientists warn, will slow down economic growth, impact poverty reduction, lower food production and drive up food prices. A leaked copy of the draft report of the Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), reviewed by ET, sounds the most urgent warning till date on the adverse impacts of unchecked climate change. While poor African countries stand out as the likely...

-The Indian Express Riot-hit Muzaffarnagar may now be looking at a crisis in its sugar economy. With private mills in the state refusing to start crushing until the Uttar Pradesh government clarifies cane prices, harvesting of crop that should have begun by now has not yet started. A key cane-growing district, Muzaffarnagar is reported to have the highest agricultural GDP in UP. With recent incidents again bringing the district to a boil,...

-The Guardian World Bank report calls for action to cut common pollutants such as soot, which could save millions of lives every year Cleaner cookstoves could save a million lives every year, but costs need to decrease sharply for poor households in developing countries to be able to afford them, according to a World Bank report. On thin ice: how cutting pollution can slow warming and save lives, published on Sunday evening, calls...

-The New York Times Climate change will pose sharp risks to the world's food supply in coming decades, potentially undermining Crop Production and driving up prices at a time when the demand for food is expected to soar, scientists have found. In a departure from an earlier assessment, the scientists concluded that rising temperatures will have some beneficial effects on crops in some places, but that globally they will make it...