Rampant Heatwaves Threaten Food Security of Entire Planet, Scientists Warn

After hottest day ever, researchers say global heating may mean future of crop failures on land and ‘silent dying’ in the oceans

Successive heatwaves threaten nature’s ability to provide us with food, say researchers, as they warn of an “unseen, silent dying” in our oceans amid record temperatures scorching the Earth.

Heatwaves are ripping through Europe, the US and China, with the global hottest day ever recorded at the start of July, endangering human life as well as the land and sea it depends on.

“Our food system is global,” said John Marsham, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Leeds. “There are growing risks of simultaneous major crop losses in different regions in the world, which will really affect food availability and prices. This is not what we’re seeing right now, but in the coming decades that’s one of the things I’m really scared of.

“As a human being, if you’re wealthy enough, you can get inside and put the air conditioning on. But natural ecosystems and farmed ecosystems can’t do that.”