Himalayan farmers recount effects of climate change

Science : Kamaljit Bawa of the University of Massachusetts Boston and his graduate student Pashupati Chaudhary interviewed 250 farmers who live in the Darjeeling Hills of India and Nepal. The researchers’ goal was to discover whether the farmers had noticed and felt the effects of climate change over the past 20 years. The answer was yes, but in surprising ways. To avoid biasing their study, Bawa and Chaudhary did not ask the farmers about climate, but about general changes. One respondent said she had to wash her kitchenware more frequently than before because food spoiled more quickly. Others had noticed that rhododendrons were growing at higher altitudes. Bawa and Chaudhary’s study, which will appear in Biology Letters , complements space- and ground-based measurements and could help farmers and others cope with climate change.