Coimbatore : Over 600 million people are at risk due to the impact of climate change in India and if land degradation is not addressed the problem could get more acute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Vice Chancellor, Dr N Kumar said Thursday.

Soil degradation and its impact on the environment are the major challenges before the Soil Scientists which is to be addressed systematically, Kumar said in his presidential address at the 8th B Ramamoorthy Memorida lecture here .

Delivering the Memorial Lecture on “Impact of Climate Change on Soil Health and its Mitigation through Nutrient Management” former TNAU Vice-Chancellor, Dr P Murugesh Bhoopathi, gave an overview about soil health which is an integral part of sustainable agriculture.

It is the responsibility of every individual to maintain the soil health and climate change impacts soil chemical, physical and biological functions through a range of predicted global change drivers such as CO2, Nitrogen deposition, temperature and rainfall, he pointed out.