Hot weather and mangoes

Mango Production and Climate Change in India

• Mangoes in India have been experiencing challenges due to rising temperatures, with the country’s annual mean land surface air temperature rising by +0.65°C in 2024.

• The Horticulture Department in India reports that mango productivity in India has swung between 5.5 metric tonnes per hectare (MT/Ha) in 2008-09 and 9.7 MT/Ha in 2017-18, averaging 7.9 MT/ha.

• During 2023-24, mango acreage in India increased by 2.34% to 24.01 lakh hectares (59.34 lakh acres), with 224.23 lakh tonnes of production.

• The impact of higher temperatures on the human body is being studied, but the environmental stress experienced by trees and plants is being studied.

• The mango plant has specific weather requirements from the time buds start appearing by the end of winter to the pollination taking place before the fruit is set.

• Fluctuating weather patterns with intense heavy rain spells and long dry spells are changing the timing of a mango plant’s budding and flowering.

• The hardiness of mango and higher productivity are being linked to genetic diversity.

• The climatic conditions required for the growth and production of mango trees are to some extent compatible with the impacts of global climate change, including drought and high temperatures.