New warning regarding rice: One day of extreme heat may leave an impact on the crop

Rice cultivation faces growing challenges amid rising global temperatures, as a recent study revealed that the timing and number of heatwave days may have a greater impact on yields than some agricultural models previously assumed.

A study published in Science Advances indicates that researchers compiled data from field experiments involving 214 comparisons between rice fields under normal conditions and those exposed to higher temperatures.

The results showed that the reproductive and grain-filling stages are the most sensitive, with each additional day exceeding 30°C linked to a significant decline in production due to impaired grain formation and nutrient translocation within the plant.

After correcting for biases in the models used to predict the effects of warming, researchers estimated that a 1°C rise in global average temperature could be associated with an approximately 8.1% global decline in rice yields, with varying impacts across regions.

The study suggests that developing heat-tolerant varieties and improving irrigation and soil management could help mitigate these risks, while emphasizing that the findings do not imply that all rice fields will suffer equal losses.