Energy News
FARM NEWS
High heat can serve up food insecurity within days
High heat can serve up food insecurity within days
By Linnea Pedersen
Paris (AFP) Aug 21, 2023

Amid record-high temperatures globally, a study Monday reveals that a few days of searing heat can be enough to prevent billions of people already living hand-to-mouth on daily wages from putting food on the table.

A week of extreme temperatures in India, for example, means an additional eight million people will likely experience serious food insecurity, according to findings published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

Spread across 150 countries examined -- especially in tropical and sub-tropical zones -- that same heatwave translates into millions of men, women and children at risk of hunger, even if overall food precarity is increased by less than one percent, they found.

The World Bank estimates that nearly 30 percent of the global population suffered moderate or severe food insecurity in 2022.

Analysis of heat impact on food availability is usually limited to decreases in crop yields, with the effects felt over months or years.

The new study, however, reveals that the impact can be immediate when it is tied to income.

"If it gets hot today, there might be food insecurity within just a few days because people can't work, which means they can't earn income and afford to buy food," lead author Carolin Kroeger of Oxford University told AFP.

Such outcomes are typically greatest in jobs where pay is closely tied to productivity, such as for agricultural harvests or piece-rate work.

Female brick carriers in West Bengal, for example, are paid by the number of bricks they carry a day. When the hot weather forces them to carry fewer bricks, they experience income losses as high as 50 percent.

Recent reporting from AFP has illustrated the findings here.

Syrian blacksmith Murad Haddad wakes up early and takes turns at the anvil with his five brothers to avoid the torching temperatures.

"The heat is killing us. I have six kids, and I can hardly look after them," he said. "But if I don't work, I can't make ends meet."

- Records broken -

"You see stronger effects in countries with lower incomes, more agricultural employment and more vulnerable employment," said Kroeger.

Kroeger found that individuals who had just experienced a hot week were more likely to have health problems and "difficulties living on their present income," resulting in significantly lower income.

Those effects were cumulative -- the more hot days in a week, the stronger the impact.

470 billion potential work hours -- equivalent to almost 1.5 weeks of work per person worldwide -- were lost in 2021 due to extreme heat.

The findings come as food prices remain high from sustained inflation and a month after India, the largest rice exporter in the world, restricted exports due to damaged harvests.

But supply and prices aren't the only problem.

Researchers have also found that rising temperatures cause a significant decline in essential nutrients in many of the staple crops and legumes upon which much of the world depends.

"A lot of heat records were broken in the last year or two so I definitely think some of the things we saw might get worse," said Kroeger.

"But there are also a couple of things that could help, like micro-insurances and improvements to labour laws -- the balance could still tilt," she added.

According to the UN's IPCC climate science advisory panel, hundreds of millions of people will likely be afflicted by at least 30 so-called "deadly heat days" every year by 2080, even if the world meets the Paris climate deal goal of capping warming well below two degrees Celsius.

Related Links
Farming Today - Suppliers and Technology

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
FARM NEWS
New UCF project examines key role soils play in keeping the planet cool
Orlando FL (SPX) Aug 21, 2023
A new project from the University of Central Florida is looking to the soils for a way to cool the skies. Funded by a nearly $750,000 grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the research will examine a method to keep carbon from escaping soils and becoming the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. As carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere, it warms the Earth by trapping heat. The research is important as NASA has reported that the Earth has seen some of the hottest tem ... read more

FARM NEWS
Atmospheric circulation weakens following volcanic eruptions

Land Surveyor 4A satellite enters preset orbit

Planet Labs secures deal with an Asian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Spire participates in Prize to advance measurements of Earth's Magnetic Field

FARM NEWS
Present and future of satellite navigation

New Galileo station goes on duty

Potential earthquake precursor discovered through GPS measurements

Northrop Grumman's new airborne navigation system achieves successful flight test

FARM NEWS
Canada to challenge latest US duties on softwood lumber

Tropical forests nearing critical temperatures thresholds

Amazon emissions soared under Brazil's Bolsonaro: study

Illegal logging turns Syria's forests into 'barren land'

FARM NEWS
Chevron, partners develop a transportation fuel using animal waste as a feedstock

Making aviation fuel from biomass

Transforming flies into degradable plastics

Illinois research leading to cleaner propane production method

FARM NEWS
Lithuanian invention at the forefront of solar technology breakthrough

Solar powered irrigation: a game-changer for small-scale farms in sub-Saharan Africa

To improve solar and other clean energy tech, look beyond hardware

US accuses Chinese companies of evading solar panel tariffs

FARM NEWS
World's largest floating offshore wind farm starts full service, Norway's Equinor says

DLR opens wind energy research farm in Krummendeich

U.S. identifies three new areas for potential offshore wind energy development

Biden to visit Philly Shipyard to announce construction of offshore wind vessel

FARM NEWS
S.Africa church fights class action against coal mines

Erdogan defends expansion of controversial coal mine

Global coal demand to stay near record in 2023: IEA

Nations call for swift fossil fuel exit to tackle climate change

FARM NEWS
US hits China on 'forced assimilation' of Tibetan children

Ballgowns, surveillance and cloning for sale at China pet fair

Young Chinese scratch an economic itch with lottery cards

Convoy of Chinese engineers attacked in Pakistan's Gwadar: militants

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.