{"id":459830,"date":"2026-08-02T10:49:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T17:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=459830"},"modified":"2026-08-02T10:49:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T17:49:34","slug":"the-climate-food-crisis-which-keeps-refusing-to-show-up-in-the-statistics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=459830","title":{"rendered":"The Climate Food Crisis Which Keeps Refusing to Show Up in the Statistics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by<\/strong> Eric Worrall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Guardian is calling climate doomsday over a few withered grape vines and a failing organic farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s too fast, too big\u2019: speed of climate crisis is devastating crops, say farmers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Drought and extreme heat are killing plants, driving up prices while also making some farms economically unviable<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pippa Neill<\/a> Fri 31 Jul 2026 21.00 AEST<\/p>\n\n\n\n


t\u2019s a constant battle,\u201d says Tim Young. He and his family have been tracking the rainfall on their Norfolk farm since 1976, and the data shows the last six years have seen two-thirds the amount of rain compared with previous years. The lack of water has become the number one risk to Young\u2019s business.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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This summer has seen record-breaking climate induced heatwaves<\/a> scorch much of Europe, which combined with droughts and \u201capocalyptic\u201d wildfires<\/a>has made farming virtually impossible. France has faced down fires that its president, Emmanuel Macron, called the worst since the second world war and on Wednesday half of England was declared officially in drought, with July expected to be the driest on record after winter floods<\/strong>, according to the Environment Agency<\/a>. So how are farmers bearing up under the pressure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe vines are dying. The grass is yellow and now we can smell the smoke,\u201d Uyen Do, an organic farmer in the Dordogne region of France says, almost in tears. \u201cIt\u2019s already very difficult to survive economically and now with climate change it\u2019s becoming a struggle that I\u2019m not sure we\u2019re capable of going through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do took over the farm in 2018 and adopted organic farming practices in the hope to build resilience against the climate crisis.<\/strong> But with the climate changing much faster than most predicted, Do says her farm is just not able to adapt quickly enough. \u201cIt\u2019s too fast. It\u2019s too big,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prof Pete Falloon, the Met Office\u2019s science lead on food security, who is advising the government on the resilience of our food systems, says a movement to more regenerative approaches, better flood management, water storage and using crop varieties that are more heat or drought tolerant is essential.

\u2026Read more: https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2026\/jul\/31\/speed-of-climate-crisis-devastating-crops-say-farmers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019a a bit to unpack here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winter saw floods, but Summer is dry and the farmers have no water for their crops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m pretty sure there is this thing, a reservoir, which can collect water when it rains, then allow that water to be used when the rain stops. Unfortunately Britain doesn\u2019t have enough of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Running Dry: How the UK Can Reverse Decades of Underinvestment in Reservoirs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n