Climate crisis

We’re all seeing more and more extreme weather events like floods and wildfires. They destroy homes and crops. But what’s less well-known is that climate change has become a big cause of rising hunger around the world.

The climate emergency is a humanitarian emergency. Without change, there will be food crises globally due to the warming climate and biodiversity loss. Extreme weather events will become more frequent and growing seasons will be shorter.

Adapting to the changing climate

Since 2008, nearly 175 million people in some of the poorest and most fragile countries in the world have been forced to flee their homes due to climate-related disasters — a number that’s growing year on year.

The painful fact is the worst consequences of climate change are faced by the poorest – the people who have done the least to cause the problem.

And the problem is getting worse

Countries across the world are experiencing more and more climate-related disasters. Severe drought is a leading cause of undernutrition in more than a third of countries that have seen a rise in hunger levels in the past 15 years.

In the Sahel region of Africa – which includes countries such as Niger, Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso – the rainy seasons are becoming more erratic. Droughts are leading to a decrease in food production while floods are causing outbreaks of diseases like cholera.

Climate change is a long-term threat to food security and nutrition. By 2050, the risk of hunger and malnutrition could rise by 20% if we fail to reduce and prevent the adverse effects of climate change.