My research area includes emissions studies from the agriculture sector. We work on quantifications of hotspots of different atmospheric gases such as NH3 and Greenhouse gases (GHG). A greenhouse gas (GHG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range. Greenhouse gases cause the greenhouse effect on planets.

The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ozone (O3). I am working on CO2 and CH4 as a part of my doctoral thesis. Over the last fifty years, the increase in agricultural production to meet the food demand of a growing population has resulted in a near doubling of GHG emissions from agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Globally, agriculture faces the triple challenge of increasing production to meet the growing food demand, adapting to changing climatic conditions and reducing agricultural emissions from the fields. Agricultural emissions basically constitute greenhouse gases (GHG) and non-greenhouse gases emissions coming from large land areas.

The changes in climate that can be expected as a result of the ongoing emissions of greenhouse gases could have large, harmful impacts on both plants and animals by making them more vulnerable to the attacks of insects/pests and diseases. Moreover, CO2 and CH4 are the topmost two gases that contribute to the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions at a global level. This growth in agriculture and associated emissions will occur mostly in Asian and African countries, where a large percentage of the population depends on agriculture and allied sectors for their livelihoods. As per EDGAR v 4.3.2 database report of 2016, total global GHG continued to increase at the rate of 0.5% annually reaching up to 49.3 Gigatons of CO2 equivalent.

My study region is the whole of India. Since, India is the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the world after the USA and China, therefore, to reduce the emissions at the global level, India has a vital role to play. The agricultural sector is responsible for 18% of gross national GHG emissions in India too mainly through rice cultivation, livestock production, fertilizer use and burning of crop residues. Continued emissions of greenhouse gases will lead to further climate changes. Future changes are expected to include a warmer atmosphere, a warmer and more acidic ocean, higher sea levels, and larger changes in precipitation patterns. The extent of future climate change depends on what we do now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The more we emit, the larger future changes will be.

Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere will continue to increase unless the billions of tons of our annual emissions decrease substantially. Increased concentrations are expected to increase the earth’s average temperature, influence the patterns and amounts of precipitation, reduce ice and snow cover. It will raise the sea level, increase the acidity of the oceans, increase the frequency, intensity or duration of extreme events, shift ecosystem characteristics, and also increase threats to human health. These changes will impact our food supply, water resources, infrastructure, ecosystems, and even our own health.

Many greenhouse gases stay in the atmosphere for long periods of time. As a result, even if emissions stopped increasing, atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations would continue to increase and remain elevated for hundreds of years. Moreover, if we stabilized concentrations and the composition of today's atmosphere remained steady (which would require a dramatic reduction in current greenhouse gas emissions), surface air temperatures would continue to warm.