Extreme heat is harming food systems in unexpected ways

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The UN has warned that extreme heat is pushing the world’s food systems to the brink. Some impacts are obvious, such as droughts that wipe out harvests and marine heatwaves that cause fish stocks to collapse. Others are not. High temperatures have produced crop-devouring locust swarms in Kyrgyzstan and toxic algal blooms in Chilean salmon farms, as well as reducing the milk production of dairy cows in Brazil. By the end of this century, it could be unsafe for farmers to work outdoors for 250 days of the year in much of South Asia, Africa and Latin America. Although the effects of heatwaves can be mitigated through new planting schedules and better tech, there is no silver bullet to our warming world.