According to the sixth Synthesis Report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in March, over the last 50 years, climate change has likely slowed growth in agricultural productivity across the globe.
It has led to food insecurity in parts of Africa, Asia, Central and South America and other vulnerable regions, according to the report.
China, one of the most populous countries, has begun to see the negative impacts of global warming in rising sea levels, severe weather events and melting glaciers.
The Ministry of Water Resources predicted in March that China’s southern region – now in its annual flood season – would suffer from frequent flooding and droughts this year, with some areas experiencing more severe extreme events compared to normal.
Aside from the threats of climate change, concerns over food security in China have arisen over deteriorating relations with the United States and its allies – many of which are major agricultural suppliers.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the annual central rural work conference in December that agriculture was the foundation of national security and weak links – including low productivity – must be fixed.
Previous studies had focused mainly on the impacts of drought and extreme heat on crop yields, but relatively little research had been done on the impact of extreme rainfall, Jian said, adding that the impact on the yields remained largely uncertain.
Past studies have usually analysed daily or seasonal rainfall data in county-level or city-level administration zones to evaluate the impact of extreme rainfall, but the method can miss negative impacts, according to the authors.
“Extreme rainfall may occur in a few hours. If you average it out over a whole day or over a whole week, the impact may be invisible,” Wang Xuhui, study lead author and a researcher at Peking University, said.
Source: CNA
