Jul 2026· Journal of Advances in Biology & Biotechnology· Vol 29, pp. 940-957· 0 citations
TL;DR
Evidence presented in the review indicates that warming conditions can accelerate insect development, modify seasonal activity, extend breeding periods, and enable range expansion into new agro-climatic zones, and that strengthening climate-resilient monitoring systems and adaptive management strategies are essential for reducing risks associated with climate-driven insect migration in India.
Abstract
Climate change and altered weather patterns increasingly influence insect migration, pest outbreaks, pollinator activity, and vector distribution in India. This review examines the major climatic drivers affecting insect movement, with an emphasis on rising temperatures, monsoon variability, unseasonal rainfall, drought, cyclones, and other extreme weather events. The manuscript focuses on key migratory or climate-sensitive insect groups, including desert locust, fall armyworm, butterflies, honeybees, mosquitoes, and dragonflies, and discusses their ecological, agricultural, and public health relevance. Evidence presented in the review indicates that warming conditions can accelerate insect development, modify seasonal activity, extend breeding periods, and enable range expansion into new agro-climatic zones. Irregular monsoon patterns and extreme weather events can further influence breeding success, migration timing, dispersal routes, and outbreak intensity. Migratory pests such as desert locust and fall armyworm pose risks to crop production, whereas changes in pollinator movement and abundance can affect pollination-dependent crops. Climate-sensitive mosquito vectors can also expand into areas where temperature and humidity conditions become favourable. The review highlights the importance of improved surveillance, climate-linked forecasting, geospatial tools, radar-based monitoring, ecological niche modelling, and long-term insect migration datasets. It also emphasizes the need for integrated approaches involving entomology, climatology, agriculture, biodiversity conservation, and public health. Strengthening climate-resilient monitoring systems and adaptive management strategies is essential for reducing risks associated with climate-driven insect migration in India.
Climate change is fundamentally altering the distribution, prevalence, and severity of plant pests and pathogens, posing an unprecedented challenge to global food security. Rising global temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and the increased frequency of extreme weather events are accelerating biological cycles, expanding the geographical range of thermophilic pests, and creating new ecological niches for emergent diseases. This paper analyzes the mechanisms by which climate-driven environmental stressors influence host-pathogen interactions, specifically focusing on the physiological susceptibility of crops and the adaptive capacity of agricultural pests. We explore how warmer winters facilitate the overwintering of populations, leading to earlier and more intense seasonal infestations. Furthermore, we examine how elevated atmospheric $CO_2$ levels alter plant nutritional quality and defensive pathways, potentially rendering crops more vulnerable to herbivory and infection. The analysis highlights the expansion of pest ranges into previously temperate zones and the disruption of biological control mechanisms as synchronized life cycles between pests and their natural enemies become decoupled. As climatic volatility increases, the management of crop health requires an urgent shift toward proactive, climate-smart surveillance systems and adaptive agricultural strategies. By synthesizing current epidemiological and ecological data, this paper provides a framework for understanding the cascading impacts of climate change on agro-ecosystems and emphasizes the necessity of integrated, landscape-level disease and pest management to sustain productivity in a rapidly warming world.
Research Author· European Journal of Food, Fa...· 0 citations
Rising global temperatures, shifting precipitation regimes, and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide are altering the geographic ranges, phenology, and population dynamics of insect pests that damage the world's major food crops. This review synthesises evidence on the physiological mechanisms, observed range shifts, and projected redistribution of agriculturally important insect species under contemporary and future climate scenarios. Poleward and altitudinal expansions have already been documented across multiple pest taxa, with average latitudinal displacement rates in the low single-digit kilometres per year, and modelling studies project further acceleration under mid- and high-emission trajectories. Case evidence from fall armyworm, cotton leafworm, maize stemborers, and several rice pests illustrates how thermal tolerance, developmental plasticity, and host-plant availability jointly determine the pace and direction of range change. Elevated carbon dioxide modifies host-plant nutritional and defensive chemistry in ways that can either suppress or, in some circumstances, enhance herbivore performance, complicating simple temperature-based forecasts. Economic assessments indicate that warming-driven increases in insect-mediated crop losses could reach double-digit percentage increases per degree Celsius for staple cereals, disproportionately affecting temperate breadbasket regions, while invasive insects already impose costs exceeding tens of billions of US dollars annually worldwide. Species distribution modelling, mechanistic niche models, and hybrid approaches are increasingly used to anticipate these shifts, though model uncertainty, incomplete occurrence data, and neglect of biotic interactions remain persistent limitations. The review closes by identifying priority research directions, drawing overall conclusions for policy and practice, and acknowledging the methodological limitations inherent to a narrative synthesis of a rapidly evolving evidence base.
Omprakash Tetarwal, Rajendra Ghanswa, Nemichand Chopra et al.· Journal of global agricultur...· 0 citations
Rising global temperatures have altered the frequency, intensity and spatial distribution of extreme weather events, with direct and measurable consequences for agricultural productivity worldwide. This review synthesises evidence on how heatwaves, drought, flooding, tropical cyclones and their compound or sequential combinations affect the yield of major cereal and grain legume crops, with particular attention to wheat, maize, rice and soybean. Physiological mechanisms underlying yield loss are examined alongside field- and satellite-derived evidence of production shortfalls, and the modulating role of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is considered. The review further evaluates adaptation strategies, including climate-smart agriculture, breeding for abiotic stress tolerance and agronomic management, and identifies the growing recognition that compound extremes, rather than single hazards, now pose the greatest threat to global food security. Evidence indicates that yield penalties associated with extreme heat, water deficit and excess soil moisture are often non-linear and interact with crop developmental stage, soil condition and regional climate. The review concludes that closing gaps in compound-event attribution, regionally disaggregated yield data and the integration of adaptation research across disciplines remains essential for safeguarding future food production under a changing climate.
Basharat Bashir, L. Ahmad, S. Qayoom et al.· International Journal of Env...· 0 citations
Global warming is increasingly recognized as a major driver of environmental change, with
far-reaching implications for ecosystem dynamics and the frequency and intensity of extreme
weather events in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper assesses how rising temperatures, shifting
rainfall patterns, and increased climate variability are transforming terrestrial and aquatic
ecosystems across the region. It explores changes in species distribution, disruptions to
ecological processes, loss of biodiversity, and heightened vulnerability to invasive species and
land degradation. In addition, the paper examines the increasing occurrence and severity of
extreme weather events including prolonged droughts, intense flooding, heat waves and
storms, and their cascading impacts on agriculture, water resources, food security, and human
livelihoods. Drawing on recent empirical evidence and regional climate projections, the
analysis highlights the complex interactions between ecosystem instability and climate
extremes, emphasizing feedback mechanisms that further intensify environmental stress. The
paper reveal that Sub-Saharan Africa remains disproportionately vulnerable due to its reliance
on Climate-Sensitive sectors and limited adaptive capacity. The paper underscores the urgent
need for integrated and sustainable responses, including ecosystem-based adaptation
strategies, improved land and water management practices, and strengthened institutional and
policy frameworks. These measures are essential for enhancing resilience, safeguarding
biodiversity, and ensuring long-term environmental sustainability in the face of ongoing global
warming.
Joseph U. Akiang· IIARD International Journal...· 0 citations
Pest damage continues to undermine food security and farmers’ livelihoods across East Africa, yet a comprehensive synthesis of its cascading ecological and socioeconomic consequences is lacking in the literature. Climate change, through rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and recurring droughts, is fundamentally altering pest behaviour and distribution across the region, driving a phenomenon here described as pest invasion: the climate-driven process by which previously contained pests break out of their historical boundaries, colonise new elevations and seasons, and destabilise the ecological relationships that once kept their populations in check. This review therefore aimed to: (i) analyse the impact of climate change on pest dynamics in East Africa, including shifts in distribution and phenology; (ii) examine the ecological consequences of pest proliferation on ecosystem structure and function; (iii) assess the socioeconomic implications for livelihoods and food security; and (iv) evaluate adaptive and area-wide pest management strategies. A qualitative narrative review synthesised peer-reviewed literature (2015-2025) from Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and JSTOR, screened for empirical rigour, geographic focus, and thematic relevance. Evidence shows that invasive pests, including fall armyworm, desert locusts, false codling moth, and Prosopis juliflora, are generating compound burdens of biodiversity loss, yield reduction, and pesticide dependence, disproportionately borne by smallholder farmers, particularly women. Area-wide integrated pest management emerges as an essential response, yet adoption remains constrained by weak policy frameworks, limited extension capacity, and insufficient regional coordination. The review concludes that climate-resilient, gender-responsive, and regionally coordinated pest management systems are essential for long-term food security and ecological sustainability in East Africa.
Asuman Adala, G. Lubega, Susan Natsite et al.· African Journal of Agricultu...· 0 citations
This review synthesizes current knowledge on the effects of major climate-related factors, including temperature, water availability, and elevated CO 2 , on the physiology, phenology, pollination, and productivity of fruit trees to provide a framework for enhancing the resilience and sustainability of fruit production under changing climatic conditions.
H. Soufi, M. Jabbari, Yazgan Tunç et al.· Biological Research· 0 citations
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