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August 20, 2008 3:55:33 PM CDT

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Climate Change May Trigger Crop Failures

Posted Feb 3, 08 9:21 AM CST in Science & Health,  World 

(Newser) – Climate change could cause severe food shortages in South Asia and southern Africa, two of the poorest regions in the world, by 2030, National Geographic reports. "We were surprised by how much, and how soon, these regions could suffer if we don't adapt," said one of the study's authors. Decreased yields could pump up costs in the global food market as well.

As levels of greenhouse gases heat up the planet, droughts and shifting rainfall patterns could cause a 30% drop in corn yields in southern Africa; in South Asia, output of almost every major crop will by cut by 5% to 10%. The authors suggest cultivating new crops in those hot spots and increasing spending on drought-resistant produce.

Source National Geographic

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Farmers ride bullock carts loaded with sugar cane into the Simbhaoli Integrated Sugar Complex which houses the ethanol plant at Simbhaoli, Uttar Pradesh, India. (AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi, File)   (Associated Press)
A woman works in a field in Ngiresi near the Tanzanian town of Arusha in Africa. In southern Africa, a study predicted a 30 percent drop in corn yields by 2030. (Associated Press)   (Associated Press)
Hydraulic cranes lift sugarcane from trucks for processing at the ethanol plant at the Simbhaoli Integrated Sugar Complex in Simbhaoli, Uttar Pradesh, India. A study predicts that almost all major South...   (Associated Press)
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climate change  • greenhouse gases  • farming  • crops  • hunger  • Southern Africa  • South Asia  • World hunger  • global food market


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