Warmth is good for plants, but beyond a certain temperature additional heat cuts crop yields. As per a recent study global warming could lead world agriculture into to a serious decline by 2080. India, Pakistan, most of Africa and most of Latin America would be the worst sufferers.
The United States, most of Europe, Russia and Canada would probably see agricultural gains if climate change continues on its current course.

Excessive heat interferes with photosynthesis until plants literally starve to death. Scientists believe a one-degree temperature increase might actually benefit agriculture. But if the planet warms by around three degrees the balance would turn negative, especially in the tropics.

A recent study sponsored by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research on effects of heat and erratic climate changes on crops, forecasts a 51% decline in India’s wheat-growing land, potentially leaving hundreds of millions hungry.

China’s top meteorological officials have warned that global warming could cut the nation’s grain harvest by 5 to 10% by 2030. And all this will be happening while both countries add more mouths to feed. Further studies have proved that from 1981-2002, warming reduced the combined production of wheat, corn, and barley by 40 million metric tons per year worldwide.

The silver lining is that warming will make once-frigid northern latitudes more suitable for agriculture. But the new farmland won’t make up for the loss of the old, because soils further north in territories such as Siberia or Labrador are thin in nutrients compared to the rich loam of tropical India.

Via:Reuters

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