The Rising Cost of Bread Will be a Harbinger for Climate Change
New study says droughts could affect some 60% of global wheat fields by the end of the century.
A combine harvester drives through a field of wheat during the summer harvest in Hungary
Photographer: Akos Stiller/BloombergClimate change-induced droughts threaten to affect more than half of the world’s wheat fields, prompting scientists to warn of potential market upheavals and political unrest.
That’s the conclusion of new peer-reviewed research published in the journal Science Advances. The grain that accounts for a fifth of mankind’s daily calories will be harder to grow because of more severe and prolonged water shortages. Their projections show that 60% of current wheat growing areas could face droughts by the end of the century, if climate change isn’t mitigated, compared with 15% today.