WFP Warns El Niño Could Push 49 Million More Into Food Insecurity as Heat Threatens Harvests
Updated
Updated · adamtooze.substack.com · Aug 16
WFP Warns El Niño Could Push 49 Million More Into Food Insecurity as Heat Threatens Harvests
2 articles · Updated · adamtooze.substack.com · Aug 16
Summary
49 million more people could face food insecurity because this year’s El Niño is colliding with global warming, the World Food Programme warned.
16 million of the additional at-risk people are in Latin America and the Caribbean, where Central America is projected to see the sharpest proportional increase at 83.1%.
18 million more people in East and Southern Africa, 8.2 million in Asia and the Pacific, and nearly 6 million in West and Central Africa could also see food security deteriorate.
The warning comes as drought and erratic rainfall threaten cocoa, coffee, wheat, rice and sugar output, while disrupted fertilizer flows and possible Panama Canal constraints add pressure to food prices and trade.
WFP and other analysts say the heaviest damage will fall on lower-income countries, where El Niño shocks can depress growth for years and intensify migration pressures.