Climate Change Limiting Wheat Output: Crop Research
despite the undooubted affection for increased CO2 in the air by the Muppets of Denial, its associated climate change is curbing output from some major global food crops, according to the latest research.
Carbon Brief republished the research in Friday's daily news summary. Its report from the research starts below.
CARBON BRIEF:
"Global yields of wheat are around 10% lower now than they would have been without the influence of climate change, according to a new study.
"The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, looks at data on climate change and growing conditions for wheat and other major crops around the world over the past 50 years.
"It comes as heat and drought have this year been putting wheat supplies at risk in key grainub-producing regions, including parts of Europe, China and Russia.
" The study finds that increasingly hot and dry conditions negatively impacted yields of three of the five key crops examined.
"Overall, global grain yields soared during the study period due totechnological advancements, improved seeds and access to synthetic fertilisers. But these yield setbacks have “important ramifications for pricesand food security”, the study authors write.
Grain impacts
"Most parts of the world have experienced “significant” yield increases in staple crops since the mid-20th century.
"The new study notes that, in the past 50 years, yields increased by 69-123% for the five staple crops included in the research – wheat, maize, barley, soya beans and rice.
"But crop production is increasingly threatened by climate change and extreme weather. A 2021 study projected “major shifts” in global crop productivity due to climate change within the next two decades."
