Global warming and heat extremes to threaten food price stability, availability and diversity

According to a new study published in Nature magazine-March ’24 undertaken by researchers of Postdam Institute, Postdam University and the European Central Bank, new evidence confirms how food security is at risk in the immediate future for a large part of our planet.

Crop productivity and yields are clearly at risk and as a consequence so are food diversity and availability. The essence of the debate is the pace at which this deterioration will take place in parallel to the measures being undertaken to adapt land and crops’ resilience to climate change extremes.

Western Africa and neighbouring territories will in the short term be specially threatened due to a concentration and dependence on no more than 100 food species.

The researchers calculate that food price inflation could rise from 0.9% to 3.3% annually from 2035 as a consequence of two combined effects: the unpredictability of adverse and extreme meteorological events and the increase of plagues and pest infestations.

At the COP28 held in November 2023, 134 countries signed up for the first time to agree the interrelation between food systems, agriculture and climate changes paving the way for general consciousness enhancement and initial action plans.

Now is time for action and proactivity before it is too late.

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