El Niño is strengthening in a world that is already hotter, raising the risk of drought, floods and crop losses across some of the world’s most important food-producing regions. But unlike many disasters, this one can be seen coming. UN experts say the months ahead offer countries a chance not only to protect the next harvest and our food security, but to prepare for a more unpredictable climate in the long run.
A chilly, wet Tuesday morning greeted presidents and prime ministers arriving at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Tuesday, as the 81st General Debate got underway.
The weather did little to slow the pace inside. Leaders moved between the General Assembly Hall, bilateral meetings and a crowded programme of events, with climate change a theme threaded throughout the day’s discussions, from drought, floods, extreme heat, rising seas and growing pressure on food and water.
All are risks that El Niño is threatening to intensify.
Born in the tropical Pacific thousands of kilometres away, El Niño is strengthening again, reshaping rainfall patterns and temperatures in ways that can affect harvests and food supplies across several regions.
“El Niño now is building on a much higher baseline,” Kaveh Zahedi, Assistant Director-General at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and climate lead, told UN News on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s annual High-Level Week.
“It’s a hotter world that the El Niño is happening in, which means it’s going to be magnifying some of the impacts,” he added.
For farmers, that can mean the difference between a harvest and a failed season, enough pasture for livestock or none at all, a manageable shock or a food-security crisis.
But unlike some other disasters, El Niño “announces” itself. Scientists can track it as it develops across the Pacific, buying governments precious time to prepare – if they have the means, and the will, to act.
by UN News – How El Niño offers a test of whether the world can adapt to a changing climate
