More than 10,000 square kilometres of Pakistan submerged under water, almost 1,800 square kilometres charred by wildfires in Russia, and a death toll of 1,117 due to the landslide in China might not be mere coincidences.
The wave of natural disasters has been largely triggered by the monster that has been avidly talked about at several international platforms - global warming.
Droughts and heat waves, such as those behind the Russian mishap, can be linked more directly to global warming, making it more difficult to attribute floods to the same.
Research conducted by some environmentalists, however, reveals that deforestation has a part to play in driving floods into an area. With Pakistans forest cover being less than 5 percent as against the UNs recommendation of a 10 percent forest cover for a sustainable eco-system in a nation it isn much wonder as to whether deforestation could have been a cause.
Rising global temperatures lay further grounding for increased glacial melting that raises water levels in rivers, and what results is an overflow causing floods.
While the outbreak of various natural calamities all over the world is a cause of concern on its own, the domino effect of the same on various crops and a spillover on other lineages of the food industry such as poultry and beverages is troublesome.
1.1 million hectares of agricultural land has been affected by floods in Pakistan, impacting the already strained sugar supplies. Vegetable and fruit plantations have also been affected resulting in a price hike to nearly triple the previous price, according to media reports.
Destruction of Russias wheat crop has also had an impact, particularly since a ban on wheat exports was imposed by the country.
Diminished supplies of wheat from Russia, which has a 13 percent share in the export market, and damages to over 600,000 tons of wheat in Pakistan, another major producer, have pulled up international wheat prices to $8.25 per bushel on August 6, the largest weekly gain in 50 years, according to Bloomberg.
The knock-on implications of rising wheat prices will spill over on substitute staple crops such as rice, soybean and barley, because a rise in the price of wheat triggers the demand for substitutes, which ripple over to price increases of the substitutes as well. The price of barley in Europe rose by130 percent to €210 a ton from €90 a ton in mid-June.
Being the prime feed grain in Europe, escalation of barley prices resulted in a rapid rise in feed costs, and is making the poultry industry face tough times. Of course, there is also the direct effect on prices of alcoholic drinks made from barley.
Climate change is anticipated to have a severe causal nexus on agricultural production. Analysts at HSBC Global Research suggest that cereal production in the G-20 nations will decrease by 70 million tons per year by 2020. This is 4.1 percent of the production in 2007.
The chain reaction from extreme climatic conditions and consequent catastrophes to volatile global agricultural markets is definitely a wake-up call. Its time to take control of the real crisis ahead before it takes control of the world.
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