Heat and Drought Hurt Yields of Major Crops, Study Shows

A study published by Stanford University’s Woods Center for the Environment shows that more frequent hot weather and droughts have lowered global crop yields for barley, maize, and wheat by 4% to 13%. The study also revealed that existing models largely failed to predict the scale of air dryness that is present in temperate zones around the world. In addition, expected crop production increases correlated with increased atmospheric carbon dioxide have failed to offset yield losses. The study’s lead author David Lobell suggests that people underestimate the impact of yield losses for major crops: “I think when people hear 5% they tend to think it’s a small number. But then you live through it and see it’s enough to shift markets. We’re talking about enough food for hundreds of millions of people.”