As climate change has demonstrated a variable effect in different part of the world, its effect is severe in the developing world. Climate change, the ambient weather factors are becoming beyond the suitability ranges, is imposing a negative effect on the adaptation and production of the crops. This is because of variability and change in precipitation, solar radiation, temperature, CO2 concentration, thereby, leading to reduced crop yield. Therefore, this paper is aimed at reviewing the effects of climate change on crop performances focusing on the cereal crops. The existing knowledge sources demonstrated climate change as a primary factor affecting crop performances. The paper observed that; there are cases where the responses are variable within and between species and are also dependent on developmental stages of the crops. For instance, the effects of increased temperature exhibit a larger impact on grain yield than on vegetative growth. The effect of climate change is also found to vary across agro-ecologies. Under an increasing climate change scenario, there is a greater likelihood on the occurrence of extreme climate events. Furthermore, the combined weather variable effect is found to be serious in reducing the grain yield of crops compared to their singular effects. This indicates the need for a problem solving research focusing the individual and combined effects of weather variables. Moreover, specific region based analysis on the effects of climate variability and change together with development of a site specific copping strategies are an urgent need to address the most pressing challenges of the 21 century; food insecurity and climate change.

Keywords: Cereal crops, Climate change, Crop performance, Elevated [CO2]