Extreme heat is becoming an increasingly serious threat to global agriculture, putting crops, livestock, and farm workers under mounting strain as heatwaves become more frequent, intense and prolonged, according to a new report.
A joint report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization on Tuesday warns that more than a billion people already face risks from extreme heat, while roughly half a trillion work hours are lost each year as dangerously high temperatures disrupt labour and food production.
The study describes extreme heat as more than a weather event, calling it a growing risk multiplier that amplifies drought, pest outbreaks, wildfire danger and water shortages across agrifood systems. It says rising global temperatures are narrowing the “thermal safety margin” that plants, animals, and humans depend on to function normally.
Flash droughts are often triggered by extreme heat events that deplete moisture from the topsoil and root zone, the report said. Notable cases occurred in the U.S. in 2012 and 2017, the Russian Federation in 2010, Australia in 2018 and 2019, China in 2022, and Brazil in late 2023 and 2024, which saw soybean yields fall by as much as 20% as temperatures averaged as much as 7 degrees higher for protracted periods.
Livestock are also vulnerable, the report said. For many common farm animals, heat stress begins above 25 degrees C, with chickens and pigs at even greater risk. Prolonged exposure can reduce feed intake, cut dairy production and, in severe cases, lead to death.
Meanwhile, the report said farm workers are among the hardest hit. The number of days each year that are simply too hot to work could climb to 250 across much of South Asia, tropical sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Central and South America, creating major threats to livelihoods and food supply chains, it said.
The report calls for a broad adaptation response, including heat-tolerant crop breeding, changes to planting windows, improved farm management practices and better early warning systems.
The full report can be found here:
https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/f635e477-b37a-46f8-bc10-34d56cec6332
