Mangaluru: YouTuber Arpith arrested for hit-and-run which claimed 2 lives, released

New Delhi, Mar 18: Food supply in India and across the globe will go down by at least 6 per cent by 2050 as water crisis and heat stress caused by climate change will hit productivity, the Global Commission on Economics of Water (GCEW) has warned.

The commission is convened by the Government of the Netherlands and facilitated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Its latest report used a large dimensional computable general equilibrium model to project impacts on global irrigated food production and food security.

Food supply decreases were projected for two climate change scenarios or representative concentration pathways (RCP) based on the intensity of the greenhouse gas emissions. The optimistic RCP 4.5 based on drastic cut in emissions and RCP 8.5 the worst-case scenario. The model used 2014 as base year.

"Even under the best-case climate change scenario of RCP4.5, most African countries experience an increase in people with severe food insecurity by more than one third," the report 'The What, Why and How of the World Water Crisis' said.

The "best case" scenario for India meant a 6.52 per cent fall in food supply while it was 16.1 per cent in the worst case scenario. In China, it was 8.97 per cent and 22.4 per cent, respectively while the fall in the US was pegged at 4.8 per cent and 12.6 per cent.

Food insecurity affects 72-81 crore people globally and is linked to water insecurity. The fall in production, the study said, will push 100 crore people into severe food insecurity, the report said.

In another report titled 'Turning the Tide', the GCEW issued a seven-point agenda for collective action: managing global water cycle with just and equity, adopt outcomes-focussed approach to water conservation, cease underpricing water, phase out subsidies in agriculture and water, establishing just water partnerships, fortifying freshwater storage systems and reshape the multilateral governance of water. 

The coastal city of Mangaluru was the hottest place in the country on Wednesday with a maximum temperature of 38.8 degrees Celsius, a trend that mostly continued into Thursday, March 9, when India Meteorological Department (IMD) said mercury ruled in the range of 37-39 degrees Celsius over many parts of Coastal Karnataka and Goa.

Similar conditions were reported from isolated places of Saurashtra, Kutch and Vidarbha, while maximum temperatures were in the range of 35-37 degrees Celsius over parts of Vidarbha and East Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Konkan, Saurashtra, Kutch, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha, Rayalaseema and West Madhya Pradesh.

The temperature recorded in Mangaluru on Wednesday was the highest since 2010, surpassing the previous high of 37.9 degrees Celsius in 2017.

On March 2, just six days ago, the city had already recorded the highest temperature in the country at 37.9 degrees Celsius. Currently, the prevailing temperature is 5.4 degrees Celsius higher than the usual temperature for this time of year.

Meanwhile, Karwar recorded a temperature of 38.6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, which is six degrees Celsius higher than usual for this season.

According to IMD, many parts of the state are likely to experience an increase of three degrees Celsius in temperature in the coming days. However, rain is expected after March in some parts of the state, while coastal areas are likely to receive rain in March itself.

The primary reason for the increase in temperature is the dry weather and heat wave blowing from North to South. Moreover, in April, the temperature in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Uttara Kannada is expected to increase by six degrees Celsius, according to IMD reports.

Bengaluru, Mar 15: Police have arrested the boyfriend of an air hostess who died after falling from the fourth floor of an apartment building in southeastern Bengaluru last week.

It was neither an accident nor a suicide, but a murder, police say.

Archana Dhiman (28) fell from the fourth-floor corridor of the apartment building in Mallappa Layout, Koramangala 8th Block, between 12.15 am and 12.45 am on March 11.

Her boyfriend Adesh, 26, a software engineer, claimed that Archana slipped and fell while pacing the corridor outside his flat. But the police found this unbelievable. Archana's father Dev Raj confirmed their suspicions by filing a murder complaint against Adesh on March 12.

Police grilled Adesh, and he eventually opened up about what had happened between him and Archana.

She had been insisting that he marry her but he had been trying to buy time. The two quarrelled over the issue on the night of March 10. Archana reiterated her stand, making Adesh blind with rage. He pushed her down the fourth floor.

Archana hailed from Himachal Pradesh and worked for a Dubai-based airline. She met Adesh through a dating app and the two dated for eight months. She occasionally visited Bengaluru and stayed with him.