Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century, and few sectors are as exposed to its impacts as agriculture. The sector is uniquely vulnerable because its productivity depends on stable climatic conditions, including temperature, rainfall, and soil health. At the same time, agriculture contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions, creating a complex feedback loop that exacerbates climate change.

This duality has profound implications for global food security, rural livelihoods, and economic stability. Farmers worldwide are facing increasingly severe shocks from droughts, heatwaves, floods, and shifting precipitation patterns. Understanding the economic stakes and identifying effective solutions is essential to safeguarding both human and environmental well-being.

Extreme heat is rapidly emerging as a binding constraint on farm labor and crop physiology. As reported in a joint WMO-FAO assessment, some regions may face up to 250 days per year too hot for safe outdoor work, compressing planting and harvesting windows and eroding productivity. Each 1°C rise in average temperature is associated with an estimated 6% decline in yields of key staples such as maize, rice, wheat, and soy-crops that collectively supply over 60% of global calorie intake. Heat also accelerates phenological development, shortening growing seasons and increasing the probability of heat stress during critical stages like flowering and grain fill, with direct losses in yield and quality.

Because agriculture remains a key economic sector in many developing countries and supports the livelihoods of more than 2.5 billion people globally, climate-related disruptions have........

© AzerNews