GEOG 438W
Human Dimensions of Global Warming

Impacts on Food

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Food insecurity linked to climate change impacts will be one of the most pressing consequences of a changing climate. Many areas of the globe –– particularly in Africa –– lack basic food security. Droughts and floods aggravate already bad situations, reducing yields and sometimes causing crop failure, further weakening already vulnerable populations.

This week, we'll explore just a few examples of the impacts of climate change on our global food security, recognizing that the impacts are complex, intertwined, and far-reaching.  These examples include:

  1. changes in growing season duration and timing;
  2. changes in growing regions;
  3. more extreme fluctuations in temperature and precipitation.
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World map illustrating the multiple causes and effects of climate change on global food security
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The idea here is that like much about climate change, the people doing a lot of the emitting (US) aren't the people who are experiencing the worst impacts of food security. The problems are really central to Asia and Africa and the large populations there, and this will reverberate throughout the world. 
Credit: World Food Programme (2018) - download the full resolution map to see the detail.