Climate Change: Extreme Weather May Put Food Production at Risk

First Posted: Aug 14, 2015 10:13 AM EDT

Climate change is impacting countries across the globe. Now, though, researchers have stated that our changing world will cause global food shortages.

The new findings actually come for the UK-US Taskforce on Extreme Weather and Global Food System Resilience. This particular report warns that there will be an increase in extreme weather events such as severe heat waves, droughts, and floods. These events may, in turn, cause food shortages.

"The chance of having a weather-related food shock is increasing, and the size of that shock is also increasing," said Tim Benton, a professor of population ecology who presented the report, in an interview with Reuters. "And as these events become more frequent, the imperative for doing something about it becomes even greater."

Extreme weather events are on the rise. For example, in 2010 to 2011, a heat wave in Russia led to the country's worst drought in 40 years. This decimated the grain harvest and led indirectly to food riots in North African countries.

"with physical risks from extreme weather events increasing it is vital that we better understand how governments and societies around the world will respond to food production shocks," said Aled Jones, who co-authored the report, in an interview with Cambridge News. "Only through this understanding of responses can we hope to better manage the food system and avoid catastrophic impacts and local, regional or even global scales."

The findings reveal that as the climate continues to change, it's more important than ever to take steps to prevent food shortages from occurring. Food security is crucial, which means that farmers may have to switch the types of crops they grow to ones that are better suited to the new environment.