Extreme Heat: An Alarming Threat to Global Agrifood Systems

A U.N. report highlights how extreme heat is challenging global agrifood systems, risking the health and livelihoods of over a billion people. Increased frequency and intensity of heatwaves are impacting crops, livestock, and fisheries, and necessitate urgent global action against climate change.

Extreme heat is posing a serious challenge to global agrifood systems, pushing them to the brink and endangering the health and livelihoods of over a billion people, according to a new report by the United Nations' food and weather agencies.

The FAO and WMO are warning that heatwaves are becoming increasingly frequent, intense, and prolonged, causing significant damage to crops, livestock, fisheries, and forests. The report underscores that extreme heat is reshaping agricultural practices, dictating what and when farmers, fishers, and foresters can produce, if at all.

Kaveh Zahedi, head of FAO's climate change office, stresses an uncertain future as climate datasets show global warming accelerating. The report advocates for better risk governance and early-warning systems to support agrifood systems, while emphasizing that adaptation isn't sufficient. Only ambitious, coordinated action to mitigate climate change offers a lasting solution to the threat posed by extreme heat.