Extreme heat is pushing global agrifood systems to the brink, the FAO warns, with rising temperatures threatening crops, livestock, fisheries and food security worldwide
The report warns that rising temperatures are increasingly damaging crops, livestock, and fisheries, while also threatening the livelihoods of more than a billion people who depend on food systems.
Moreover, researchers note that heatwaves are becoming more frequent, intense, and prolonged, compounding yield reductions and escalating stress on global food security.
Extreme heat increasingly threatens global agrifood systems, report says
Extreme heat is characterised by daytime and nighttime temperatures rising above their usual ranges for an extended period, which consequently affects food crops, livestock, fish, trees, and humans.
The new report, titled Extreme heat and agriculture, highlights the worrying impact of the increased frequency, duration, and intensity of extreme heat events on agrifood systems and landscapes.
“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.”
The impact of extreme heat on agrifood systems
Rising global temperatures and more frequent extreme heat events are reducing the “thermal safety margin”—the buffer of temperatures below a species’ maximum tolerable limit—needed for vital biological processes such as photosynthesis, growth, and reproduction.
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