The world faces widespread food shortages due to global warming

Food shortage is becoming a widespread threat

Widespread water shortages caused by rising global temperatures could lead to food shortages and mass migration, an expert has warned.

Food shortage is becoming a widespread threat

The head of the World Meteorological Society, Michel Jarraud has warned that of all the threats posed by a warming climate, shrinking water supplies are the most serious.

It is predicted that by 2025, some 2.8 billion people will live in ‘water scarce’ areas – a huge rise from the 1.6 billion who do now.

Parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia will be worst affected, with pockets of Australia, the US and southern Europe also predicted to suffer.

Mr Jarraud told Carbon Brief that although it has been a few years since a spate of major food crises, ‘all the ingredients are there for a food crisis to come back on a very large scale.’

Earlier this week the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) announced that Southern Africa faces food shortages, as drought, exacerbated by the El Nino weather pattern, delays planting and stunts crops across the region.

‘The presence of a strong El Nino episode in 2015/16 raises serious concerns regarding the impact on food insecurity,’ the FAO said in the alert.

Mr Jarraud also warned that diseases will likely affect new parts of the world that didn’t have to battle them before.

As the world’s population grows, the food shortage problem is set to get worse, The Independent reported.

The UN has predicted the global population will rise to 11.2 billion by the end of the century, from its current level of 7.3 billion – with a lot of the growth coming from Africa – an area that is already stretched for resources.

Daily Mail

UM– USEKE.RW

NIZEYIMAMA JEAN