Climate Change Update: Already Reducing Crop Yields

Climate Change Already Reducing Crop Yields | Environment | English: "Climate change is already beginning to hurt maize and wheat production, according to a new study.

Higher average growing season temperatures in most major grain-producing countries are beginning to work against the progress made by improving seeds and farming practices, according to the study published in the journal Science.

'It is better for yields if it gets warmer, but only up to a point,' said economist and study co-author Wolfram Schlenker at Columbia University.

Once temperatures rise above a certain point, which varies for each crop, 'yields fall off a cliff,' he said.

Improving technology vs. hotter climate

Global crop yields have been increasing slowly, but steadily, over the decades as farming technology has improved."