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Extreme Heat Threatens Food, Endangers Over Billion Lives

4/23/2026

Summary

FAO Warns Heat

UN FAO and WMO issued a report warning extreme heat threatens food systems, endangers over a billion lives and costs 500 billion work hours.
The report says heat could make 250 days per year unsafe for labor and that livestock stress begins above 25 °C while crops lose yields above 30 °C.
It urges warnings, heat-tolerant crops, shifted planting dates, financial aid and emission cuts to curb harvest losses of up to 40 %.

Summary

Trump Skips COP30

President Donald Trump missed COP30 in Brazil and repealed climate policies, backing fossil fuels.
Iran restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a fertilizer and fuel route, sparking food-crisis fears.
FAO economist Máximo Torero warned farmers must cut inputs, plant less, or switch to low-fertilizer crops.
Jorge Moreira da Silva said the African planting season ends by May, endangering poorest, prompting critics to call COP30 a failed climate summit.

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FAO Warns Heat

UN FAO and WMO issued a report warning extreme heat threatens food systems, endangers over a billion lives and costs 500 billion work hours.
The report says heat could make 250 days per year unsafe for labor and that livestock stress begins above 25 °C while crops lose yields above 30 °C.
It urges warnings, heat-tolerant crops, shifted planting dates, financial aid and emission cuts to curb harvest losses of up to 40 %.

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