Our research suggests that weather extremes caused by climate change could raise the risk of food shortages in many countries.
We looked at the difference between global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C and found that – despite increased vulnerability to food insecurity in both scenarios – the effects could be worse for most countries at 2°C.
The study examines 122 developing and least-developed countries, mostly in Asia, Africa and South America. At 2°C global warming, the Amazon river flow could decline by up to 25% and flow in the Ganges could more than double. More drought and/or floods would make Brazil, India, Bangladesh more vulnerable to food insecurity.
The paper has been been published in a Special Issue of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A
