Climate Changed
Rising Heat From Climate Change Threatens U.S. Crop Yields
- Increasing temperatures, drought to disrupt productivity
- Report comes as many Americans occupied with U.S. holiday
Corn is unloaded from a combine harvester outside Walnut, Illinois.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
American farmers’ livelihoods are at risk from climate change as Midwestern grain yields are poised to tumble amid increasing temperatures and more extreme flooding and droughts, according to a new report.
Rising heat, drought, wildfires and heavy downpours are expected to increasingly disrupt agricultural productivity in the U.S., according to a National Climate Assessment report released Friday. While some northern regions may be able to expand production of alternative crops amid the changes, yields from major U.S. crops are poised to drop.