Climate change causes cereals to fall 2% every decade

A new study by British, Australian and American scientists shows that climate change negatively affects crops at a more serious level than previously calculated, making the risk of food insecurity existing. better.

Based on the analysis of more than 1,700 simulations of a temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius by 2050, scientists found that wheat, corn and rice production in general would decrease by about 2% per decade.

In the second half of the 21st century, if the temperature increases by 5 degrees Celsius over the pre-industrial period, the tropical regions will be even more severely affected than temperate areas, with a decrease in production. Wheat and corn can reach 40%.

Indian farmers harvest wheat in Amritsar.(Photo: AFP / VNA)

So far, the governments of many countries in the world have agreed with the goal of limiting the temperature rise to no more than 2 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era.

However, scientists have warned that planetary temperatures could increase by 4 to 5 degrees Celsius without drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

According to Dr. Mark Howden, co-author of the study, the change to adapt to the trend of extreme weather, such as changing the time of planting and irrigation, can contribute to increasing food production. demand from 10 to 15%, enough to supply food for 500 million to 1 billion people in the world.

However, in the context of climate change today, it is very difficult to achieve the goal of increasing up to 14% of global food production after every decade to meet the growing food demand of a world. with a growing population.