The Telangana State Development Planning Society (TSDPS) has released a climate bulletin as part of efforts to help farmers and rural communities adapt to increasing climate risks.

Issued through the State Knowledge and Learning Centre for Agriculture (SKLTshu), the bulletin offers specific advice on the weather patterns of the season, rainfall forecasts and climate risks likely to affect crop calendars and farm activities of the coming months. It aims to provide farmers with information that enables timely decision-making and helps reduce climate-related losses.

The document combines information gathered from the meteorological departments, agriculture universities and climate research institutions in order to make localised forecasts of temperature variations, rainfall distribution and potential climate hazards, officials said. These include heatwaves, unseasonal rainfall and a prolonged dry period; all of which have increasingly affected farmers across the state.

The bulletin further details some adaptation measures, including different sowing dates, crop varieties better suited to resist the effects of changing weather, and changes to irrigation practices. The bulletin includes crop-specific alerts and risk mitigation guidance to help farmers make informed decisions.

Agriculture is facing rapidly changing climate conditions, and timely and reliable information is key for maintaining agricultural productivity, said a senior agriculture official. “This bulletin brings a clear understanding of climate science to the most common farm decision-making tasks.”

The release notes, apart from the weather forecasts, include best practices on soil moisture conservation, advice on pest surveillance in relation to climatic conditions and recommendations for fertiliser application based on changing temperatures. Extension officers and the village facilitators are being engaged to disseminate knowledge and help explain the information contained in the bulletin at the community level.

The initiative aligns with the state's broader climate adaptation goals to identify climate adaptation needs in extension, and to strengthen the ability of farmers to deal with climate-related challenges. According to officials, they will also be preparing more such warnings at regular intervals during the crop year as part of a continuous framework to support climate adaptation efforts and agricultural resilience.