Global warming will cut wheat yields, research shows

Production of wheat – one of the world’s most important staple crops – is set to fall with the hike in global temperatures.

GLOBAL wheat yields are likely to fall significantly as climate change takes hold, new research has shown. The researchers found that wheat production would fall by 6% for every 1°C increase in temperatures. The world is now nearly certain to warm by up to 2°C compared with pre-industrial levels, with political efforts concentrated on holding the potential temperature rise to no higher than that limit. But some analyses suggest that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow at current rates, then warming of as much as 5°C could be in store.