P. Heinlein/Voice of America Somali refugees hold meal cards outside a feeding center at an Ethiopian transit camp in September 2011. Severe drought in the Horn of Africa created serious food security issues for many people.
Climate warming caused by greenhouse gases is very likely to increase the variability of summertime temperatures around the world by the end of this century, a University of Washington climate scientist said Friday. The findings have major implications for food production. Current climate models do not adequately reflect feedbacks from the relationship between the atmosphere and soil, which causes them to underestimate the increase of variability in summertime temperatures, said David Battisti, a UW professor of atmospheric sciences. While warmer temperatures already have implications for food production in the tropics, the new findings suggest the increase in the volatility of summertime temperatures will have serious effects in grain-growing regions of Europe and North and South America, Battisti said.
- "If there's greater variability, the odds of the temperature being so high that you can't grow a crop are greater,” he said.
- "In terms of regional and global food security, it's not good news. Battisti presented his findings at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Vancouver, Canada.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
