Climate Crisis and Extreme Weather Threaten Global Food Security
The climate crisis and extreme weather events are posing significant threats to global food security, with crop yields flattening after decades of growth and potential declines expected as climate change intensifies. Under high-emission scenarios, global crop yields could fall by about 25% by the end of the century, with maize yields projected to drop between 6% and 24%.
A recent map-based study highlights the extreme weather disruptions to harvests and food supply chains during 2023–2024 across multiple regions. In China, eastern floods between June and August 2023 affected about 5 million tonnes of corn, roughly 2% of the country's output, while rice production declined by about 5%. France experienced a 25% drop in soft wheat production, and England's 2024 wheat harvest was the second-worst on record, down about 20%, with some regions seeing wine harvests fall up to 75%.
In southern Africa, a severe drought declared a national disaster in February 2024 impacted five countries. Zimbabwe's maize crop was halved, and over 1 million hectares of maize were destroyed in Zambia. The United States saw its driest autumn on record in 2024, with approximately 75% of the mainland experiencing abnormal dryness, leading to crop losses exceeding $20.3 billion.
The Amazon region suffered a drought with major impacts in October and November 2024, affecting millions across Colombia, Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia. Peru reported about 18,000 hectares of crops affected, and Paraguay's exports were hampered by low river levels. Nearly half a million children in the region faced shortages of water and food.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) emphasizes the need for enhancing resilience in agriculture by adopting smarter rice cultivation methods, restoring degraded land, and reducing emissions. Efforts to moderate global warming could halve global caloric yield losses, contributing to improved food access and affordability as part of a broader sustainability initiative.
