"Melting Himalayan glaciers and other climate change impacts pose a direct threat to the water and food security of more than 1.6 billion people in South Asia, according to initial findings of an Asian Development Bank (ADB) study.... If current trends persist until 2050, yields of maize, wheat and rice can fall by up to 17 percent, according to the study, [titled Addressing Climate Change in the Asia and Pacific Region: Building Climate Resilience in the Agriculture Sector,] which will be unveiled at a UN convention on climate change in Bangkok in late September...." [Reuters/Factiva]

Xinhua adds that "...analyzing current trends and scenarios based on projected temperature increases, the study warns that four countries in South Asia - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal - are particularly vulnerable to falling crop yields caused by glacier retreat, floods, droughts, erratic rainfall and other climate change impacts...." [Xinhua/Factiva]

Business Recorder writes that "...the study outlines a range of agricultural adaptation measures that could significantly reduce the region's vulnerability to climate change impacts. These include investments in irrigation expansion and water resource management, farm-to-market roads, and agriculture research and dissemination...." [Business Recorder (Pakistan)/Factiva]