Rice feeds billions of people – but its role in fueling climate change is growing

Rice paddies are essential to lives and livelihoods in many parts of Asia. Jingting Zhang

Rice feeds more than half the world. From terraced paddies in Southeast Asia to irrigated fields in China and India, it underpins daily meals for billions of people.

But the same flooded soils that help rice thrive also create ideal conditions for microbes that release climate-warming gases.