Without global warming, total harvests of both crops (wheat and corn) would have been significantly larger than they were, the statistical analysis found. – Reuters Photo
WASHINGTON: Climate change has stunted the worldwide increase in corn and wheat yields since 1980 by 3.8 and 5.5 percent respectively, according to a new study in the journal Science.

Without global warming, total harvests of both crops would have been significantly larger than they were, the statistical analysis found.

The shortfall equals the annual yield of corn in Mexico, some 23 metric tonnes, and wheat in France, about 33 metric tonnes.

One of the country’s with the largest crop loss was Russia, where wheat production fell some 15 percent.

The study estimates that the global drop-off in production may have caused a six percent hike in consumer food prices since 1980, some $60 billion per year.

Net impact on rice and soybean was insignificant, with gains in some countries balancing losses in others, according to the study.

The researchers, led by David Lobell of Stanford University, noted one “startling exception”: the United States isn’t getting hotter, nor are its crop yields less than they might have been without climate change.

“The results are a reminder that while the relationship between crop production and climate change is obvious on a global scale, models that zoom in... on a country-by-country basis won’t necessarily see the same effects,”the researchers said in a press release.

To carry out the study, Lobell and colleagues compared two mathematical models, one tracking actual increases in temperatures and the other projecting 1980 temperatures over the next three decades.

Opinion

Editorial

Energy inflation
23 May, 2024

Energy inflation

ON Tuesday, the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority slashed the average prescribed gas prices of SNGPL by 10pc and...
Culture of violence
23 May, 2024

Culture of violence

WHILE political differences are part of the democratic process, there can be no justification for such disagreements...
Flooding threats
23 May, 2024

Flooding threats

WITH temperatures in GB and KP forecasted to be four to six degrees higher than normal this week, the threat of...
Bulldozed bill
Updated 22 May, 2024

Bulldozed bill

Where once the party was championing the people and their voices, it is now devising new means to silence them.
Out of the abyss
22 May, 2024

Out of the abyss

ENFORCED disappearances remain a persistent blight on fundamental human rights in the country. Recent exchanges...
Holding Israel accountable
22 May, 2024

Holding Israel accountable

ALTHOUGH the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor wants arrest warrants to be issued for Israel’s prime...