Spring sprung weeks ahead of schedule as global temperatures reached a record high, stressing tea plants in both hemispheres.
Tea Polyphenols Applied to Roots Aids Parched Plants
Extreme drought, a direct consequence of climate change, has become a recurring nightmare for tea plantations. In recent years, it has struck with alarming frequency, leading to significant yield losses. A stark example of this is seen in China, where tea yields plummeted by a staggering 30% in 2023. One source of relief investigated by Chinese researchers is tea itself. Adding a concentrated mix of 100 mg per liter of water by pouring it over the roots under drought conditions promotes the closure of stomata to greatly reduce water loss from the leaves. The polyphenols accumulated in the root system significantly increasing EGCG, ECG, and EGC levels that enhance the plant’s drought resistance through multiple pathways, according to the study published in the Journal of Molecular Sciences.
March was the 10th consecutive month of record-high temperatures, overshooting for the entire year the 1.5 degrees Celsius global climate target.
Temperatures during the past 12 months were 1.58C above pre-industrial averages, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Copernicus Center recorded temperatures globally as 1.68 degrees C (3 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than historical averages.
Spring arrived after the hottest winter on record in the US. According to NOAA (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the global land and ocean surface temperature in March was 45.1 degrees F (3.6 degrees above the 20th-century average). February was 1.4 degrees C (2.52 degrees F) above the 20th-century average of 12.1 degrees C (53.8 degrees F).
Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess told Bloomberg News that “Stopping further warming requires rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.” Policymakers and scientists warn that exceeding the 1.5C limit could threaten life on the planet.
Assam started the year bone dry, but the rains that finally arrived in late March will revive tea in the world’s largest growing region. In January, China experienced a cold wave that brought snow to many southern tea-growing regions. Weather patterns have since normalized, with temperatures trending upward. In Kenya, temperatures in the highlands east of the Rift Valley rose to 38C in February. Forecasts are for higher heat stress in eastern Kenya and Tanzania through May. Kenya experienced a wet year in 2023.
Dry weather in the southern hemisphere is attributed to El Niño, which causes hot and dry weather. The journal Scientific Reports predicts a 90% chance that global average surface temperatures will reach record highs by the end of June, then easing as the La Niña cycle begins in the second half of 2024.
The World Meteorological Organization said that El Niño would “push global temperatures into uncharted territory along with climate change.” Temperatures are now unofficially thought to be the hottest in at least 100,000 years.