AUGUST 31st, 2018
By Patryk Krych | The World Daily
Droughts and Crop Losses Due to Pests, as a Cause of Warmer Weathers
Climate change has never been a more feared issue as it has recently, with the predicted effects taking hold. US Scientists have estimated that the pests will end up eating 10-25% more rice, wheat and maize all over the world for each one degree increase in climate temperature. Meaning of course that the rise will occur even if climate change is restricted to the international target of 2C.
The rising levels of heat are thought to put bugs into a higher mode of activity, increasing their numbers and appetites - it’s a known fact that bugs tend to reproduce more frequently in higher temperatures. Hence why a US study predicts that insects will be at the heart of the worldwide crop losses.
At the University of Washington, US, researcher Curtis Deutsch told BBC News; "Insect pests currently consume the equivalent of one out of every 12 loaves of bread (before they ever get made). By the end of this century, if climate change continues unabated, insects will be eating more than two loaves of every 12 that could have been made."
Professor Deutsch also stated that this is bound to put a lot of pressure on companies and industries, who are among the many that will be heavily affected by the losses.
“For many, many people in the world there is already a shortage of food, so it is not like we can afford to spare [more],” added Prof Deutsch, “A lot of people in the world, the most vulnerable, can’t afford to give up anything.”
Deutsch and his fellow researchers predict the insects will consume nearly 50% more wheat than they do presently with a 2C rise, along with 30% more maize. Rice, though also suffering higher losses, will be less affected due to its condition of being grown in a place which is already close to the optimal temperature for insects, that being the tropics – Granting that insects are still predicted to eat 20% more.
Heading the experiment were Professors Deutsch, Joshua Tewksbury and other colleagues, who had conducted a world-scale study on the topic, went through predictions for at least three different grain crops that are considered staple foods for the entire global populous.
As shown in the Science journal, the study had used data from all over the world, with the combined help of the remarkable group, the create a measured prediction that correlates the activity of insects to the rising temperatures, and the consumption of crops as well to produce the mainly accurate calculations.
Any arrangements made by the vulnerable farmers to try to lower increased pest losses is thought to be questionable in terms of whether or not it will be successful, as stated by Professor Rosamond Naylor at Stanford University, US, and a member of the research team. “Increased pesticide applications, the use of [resistant] genetically modified crops and practices such as crop rotations will help control losses from insects. But it still appears that under virtually all climate change scenarios, pest populations will be the winners.”
In its entirety, the losses are thought to soon increase by 20-50% for 2C of increased temperature levels and around 40%-100% for 4C. The 4C scenario is bound to be reached by the end of this century if carbon emissions are not soon stopped, or better monitored and dealt with. As seen in climate models; global temperatures could increase by 2-5 degrees before we reach 2100.
Scott Merrill at the University of Vermont, another member of the team, said; “The overall picture is, if you’re growing a lot of food in a temperate region, you’re going to be hit hardest.”
By Patryk Krych | The World Daily
©2018 THE WORLD DAILY
