Researchers say average daily losses for every 1C the planet heats up could add to equivalent of not having breakfast
Some of our critical staple crops could suffer “substantial” production losses due to climate breakdown, a study has found, even if farmers adapt to worsening weather.
Rice, maize, soy, wheat, cassava and sorghum yields are all projected to fall by as much as 120 calories per person per day for every 1C the planet heats up, according to new research in Nature, with average daily losses that could add up to the equivalent of not having breakfast.
The study found rising incomes and changes in farming practices could stem the losses by about a quarter by 2050 and by one-third by 2100 – though they would not stop them entirely.
“In a high-warming future, we’re still seeing caloric productivity losses in the order of 25% at global scale,” said Andrew Hultgren, an environmental economist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and lead author of the study. “It’s not as bad as a future where adaptation doesn’t happen at all, but it’s not this rosy ‘agriculture is going to benefit from climate change’ kind of picture.”
