The effects of climate change on agriculture can result in lower crop yields and nutritional quality due to drought, heat waves and flooding as well as increases in pests and plant diseases. Climate change impacts are making it harder for agricultural activities to meet human needs. The effects are unevenly distributed across the world and are caused by changes in temperature, precipitation and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels due to global climate change. In 2019, millions were already suffering from food insecurity due to climate change. Further, the predicted decline in global crop production is 2% – 6% with each decade. In 2019 it was predicted that food prices would rise by 80% by 2050. This will likely lead to increased food insecurity, disproportionally affecting poorer communities. A 2021 study estimated that the severity of heatwave and drought impacts on crop production tripled over the last 50 years in Europe – from losses of 2.2% during 1964–1990 to losses of 7.3% in 1991–2015.
Direct impacts from changing weather patterns are caused by rising temperatures, heat waves and changes in rainfall (including droughts and floods). Increased atmospheric levels has led to higher crop yields (due to fertilization) but has also resulted in reduced nutritional value of crops (lower levels of micronutrients). Climate driven changes in pests, plant diseases and weeds can also result in lower crop yields and nutritional value. Losses of agricultural land due to sea level rise is an indirect result of climate change. However, more arable land may become available as frozen land thaws, though melting glaciers which could result in less irrigation water being available. Other impacts include erosion and changes in soil fertility and the length of growing seasons. Negative impacts on food safety and losses caused by fungi, leading to mycotoxins, and bacteria, like Salmonella, increase as the climate warms; this is an additional financial burden. Water scarcity – including disturbances of – caused or worsened by climate change can have substantial negative impacts on agriculture.
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Climate change scenarios or socioeconomic scenarios are projections of future greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions used by analysts to assess future vulnerability to climate change. Scenarios and pathways are created by scientists to survey any long term routes and explore the effectiveness of mitigation and helps us understand what the future may hold this will allow us to envision the future of human environment system. Producing scenarios requires estimates of future population levels, economic activity, the structure of governance, social values, and patterns of technological change.
Rainfed agriculture is a type of farming that relies on rainfall for water. It provides much of the food consumed by poor communities in developing countries. E.g., rainfed agriculture accounts for more than 95% of farmed land in sub-Saharan Africa, 90% in Latin America, 75% in the Near East and North Africa, 65% in East Asia, and 60% in South Asia. There is a strong correlation between poverty, hunger and water scarcity in part because of the dependencies on rainfed agriculture in developing economies.
The effects of climate change on human health are increasingly well studied and quantified. They can be grouped into direct effects (for example due to heat waves, extreme weather events) or indirect effects. The latter take place through changes in the biosphere for example due to changes in water and air quality, food security and displacement. Social dynamics such as age, gender or socioeconomic status influence to what extent these effects become wide-spread risks to human health.
The course equips students with a comprehensive scientific understanding of climate change covering a wide range of topics from physical principles, historical climate change, greenhouse gas emissions
Le cours présente les enjeux mondiaux liés au climat: système climatique et prévisions ; impacts sur écosystèmes et biodiversité ; cadrage historique et débat public ; objectifs et politiques climatiq
This course examines the supply of energy from various angles: available resources, how they can be combined or substituted, their private and social costs, whether they can meet the demand, and how t
Explores the introduction of an air ticket tax in Switzerland to reduce aviation emissions, analyzing its impact on demand, CO2 emissions, and passenger growth.
Explores key facts and trends shaping economic globalisation, including geography, historical civilisations, food crops, climate zones, and income distribution.
Globally, billions of people burn fuels indoors for cooking and heating, which contributes to millions of chronic illnesses and premature deaths annually. Additionally, residential burning contributes significantly to black carbon emissions, which have the ...
Understanding the cooling service provided by vegetation in cities is important to inform urban policy and planning. However, the performance of decision-support tools estimating heat mitigation for urban greening strategies has not been evaluated systemat ...
Recent research shows prominent effects of pregnancy and the parenthood transition on structural brain characteristics in humans. Here, we present a comprehensive study of how parental status and number of children born/fathered links to markers of brain a ...