Food insecurity bites in countries overwhelmed by extreme weather

For some of the world’s most fragile countries, reports Nick Ferris, even the 1.3C warming we have already experienced is proving an obstacle to sustaining one of the most fundamental factors in the survival of humanity: our food system

West Africa is suffering from a major hunger crisis (AP)

Limiting warming to 1.5C has repeatedly been hailed as “our north star” by Cop28 president Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber in his interactions with the press. Beyond that target, scientists warn, the world will suffer devastating, irreversible climate change.

But for some of the world’s most fragile countries, even the 1.3C warming we have already experienced is proving too much to handle in relation to one of the most fundamental factors in the survival of humanity: our food system.

Just ahead of Cop28, some 57 million people worldwide were experiencing crisis levels of acute food insecurity in locations where extreme weather is the primary driver of hunger, according to Save the Children. This is nearly double the figure of 29 million reported in 2018.