Heat, Drought To Batter Wheat Crops In The U.S. And China

Global warming is significantly increasing the likelihood of extreme temperatures affecting wheat production in key regions in the US and China, according to a study by Tufts University.

Photo Insert: Once rare, heat waves could now occur more frequently, with serious implications for global food supply if these major grain-producing regions simultaneously face crop failure.

Once rare, heat waves could now occur more frequently, with serious implications for global food supply if these major grain-producing regions simultaneously face crop failure, SciTechDaily reported.

A new study from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University shows the likelihood of extreme weather in wheat-producing areas of the US and China has increased significantly.

The world is getting hotter, causing shifts in seasonal patterns and increasing the amount of extreme weather such as severe droughts and heat waves, which can affect crop yields and food supplies.

A recent study led by a Tufts researcher found that the likelihood of extreme temperatures that could affect crop yields has increased significantly in wheat-producing regions of the US and China.

The findings predict heat waves that happened approximately once every hundred years in 1981 are now likely to happen once every six years in the Midwestern US and once every 16 years in Northeastern China.

The work shows the range of conditions that people need to prepare for, even if they haven’t occurred yet.

“The historical record is no longer a good representation of what we can expect for the future,” said Erin Coughlan de Perez, Dignitas Associate Professor at the Friedman School and lead author on the paper, which will be published today in Climate and Atmospheric Science.

“We live in a changed climate and people are underestimating current-day possibilities for extreme events.”

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