Climate change will hit Indian monsoon system very hard in the next two centuries unless governments take sincere steps to limit global warming, a new study has warned.

A team of researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Potsdam University found that the combination of rising temperatures and variations in force of the Pacific Walker circulation in spring could result into more frequent and harsh changes in monsoon rainfall between 2150 and 2200 A. D.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, said that the monsoon rains in India could drop nearly every fifth year between 2150 and 2200.

Jacob Schewe, lead author of the study, said, "Our study points to the possibility of even more severe changes to monsoon rainfall caused by climatic shifts that may take place later this century and beyond."

Burning of fossil fuels by humans and related shifts in tropical air flows are mainly blamed for continued global warming.

The study has projected an increase of 4.6 degrees C (8.3 F) in temperatures over pre-industrial times by 2200. A separate more gloomy United Nations report said global temperatures will rise by between 1.1 and 6.4 degrees C by 2100.

India depends heavily on the monsoon rains for its crucial agriculture sector. Thus, any considerable change in monsoon will affect the production of crops like rice, corn and wheat. Monsoon, which lasts from June to September, accounts for over 70 per cent of rainfall in India.