Extreme heat events currently threaten the livelihoods and health of over a billion people, causing half a trillion work hours to be lost annually, with the prospect for damage to livestock herds and crop yields set to soar higher in the future. Agricultural workers and agrifood systems are on the frontlines, absorbing the greatest impacts from extreme heat.
The frequency, intensity and duration of extreme heat events have risen sharply over the past half century, with worrying impacts on agrifood systems and landscapes, according to “Extreme heat and agriculture,” a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Extreme heat refers to situations where daytime and nighttime temperatures rise above their usual ranges for a protracted period, leading to physiological stress and direct physical damages to food crops, livestock, fish, trees and human beings.
The report examines how extreme heat ripples through agricultural systems and how heatwaves can interact with other climatological variables, including rain, solar radiation, humidity, wind and drought – to trigger compound effects that wreak havoc on individuals and entire ecosystems.
“This work highlights how extreme heat is a major risk multiplier, exerting mounting pressure on crops, livestock, fisheries and forests, and on the communities and economies that depend upon them.” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu.
“Extreme heat is increasingly defining the conditions under which agrifood systems operate,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. More than simply an isolated climatic hazard, it acts “as a compounding risk factor that magnifies existing weaknesses across agricultural systems.”
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