Rice and food security: Climate change implications and the future prospects for nutritional security

Abstract Environmental stresses including salinity, drought, cold, warmer temperatures, alterations in precipitation patterns, fluctuations of weather events, and increasing insect and disease infestations negatively affect crop production and nutritional values. This situation becomes further complicated due to the changing climatic conditions, thus raising concern about food security worldwide. Some worst‐case projections indicated that by 2100, CO 2 concentrations will reach 950 parts per million, temperatures will climb by 3.5 to more than 8°C, sea level will rise by more than 2.4 meters, and the average farmland drought risk index will increase from 52.45 to 129. In addition, average precipitation will increase by 1%–3% in some areas and atmospheric water vapor will increase by 6%–7% for every degree of temperature rise.…