Climate change and global warming will eventually have a colossal impact on all dimensions of food security, ranging from food availability, accessibility, and systems stability. It will culminate into an enormous effect on the food production systems, distribution channels, marketing channels, and food purchasing powers. In essence, the impacts will culminate in long-term intense weather patterns majorly caused by increased temperatures and precipitation patterns. As in modern times, agriculture-based edifices are now susceptible to food insecurity and face immense risks. Majorly, such vulnerabilities are highly linked to the escalated cases of increased climatic changes and global warming. In analyzing the interrelationship between climate change, global warming, and food security, the delineation flanked by climatic change and global warming will also be captured. The analysis takes a broader view in exploring the massive impacts of both climate change and global warming on food security systems.
Climate change and global warming are two phenomena utilized cognately in gauging the vulnerability they cause in diminishing food security patterns in developing nations. Global warming acts as a major factor contributing to climate change. Principally, climate change infers to the snowballing changes in the weather or daily patterns over a prolonged period (Benjamin & Budescu, 2017). Such patterns are inclusive of changes in precipitation as well as wind patterns. On the other hand, global warming is inclusive of climatic change. Global warming denotes the exponential increase in global temperatures. Majorly, it is associated with heightened emissions of carbon or greenhouse gas concentrations into the atmosphere.
While climate change is associated with natural causes, global warming is related to human aspects, such as the increased release of greenhouse gases. Yet again, climate change comprises some of the effects caused by global warming. Over the years, the planet has continued to experience overwhelmingly global heating, which has massively affected agricultural patterns and hence threatened food security systems (Seeteram, 2012). Emissions of aerosol pollution could also cause climate change into the atmosphere. The major confusion between the two terms thus arises from global warming is the increased surface temperatures. At the same time, climate change entails the side effects of warming. Global warming is one indicator of the larger human-caused climate change.
With the increased global temperatures, destructive weather patterns are anticipated to rise. The increase in global temperatures over the years continues to gather detailed observations of the emergence of various weather patterns. According to Krishnamurthy et al., such patterns include increased temperatures, precipitations, rising sea levels, and changes in oceanic currents leading to tornadoes (2012). Essentially such data continue to solidify the claims of the earth’s climate continuing to change every conceivable scale since the emergence of geologic epochs. Additionally, such evidence also proves the continued human activities since the industrial revolution and act as a projection of the endless cycles of unending climatic change patterns.
Such effects are still evident in modern-day times. Increased scenarios of wildfires, oceanic storms as well as extinctions of both fauna and fauna. The current upsurge in global temperatures is occurring at higher rates at any given point due to increased civilization and agricultural activities. Thus, interglacial activities are thus set to grow exponentially. Essentially increased human activities continue to impact the globe massively. Increased carbon emissions and deforestation activities increase aspects that massively derail agricultural productivity (Benjamin & Budescu, 2017). With projections of rising global temperatures, food production rates also will encounter a diminishing downward trend in developing countries. A projected increase in average temperatures is still expected to occur even in the distant future. Weather variability and extreme events will be predominant presently and in the near future. Such projected increases will continue being experienced through increased frequencies and durations of hot seasons and precipitation events. Thus, wetter regions will continue being wet in extreme cases while drier regions dryer.
The increased climatic changes have continually led to major threats to the existing food production systems hence food security systems. Extreme weather events have had a massive impact on food production mechanisms and distributions infrastructures, scenarios of food emergencies, and livelihoods. Mainly, climatic changes affect food security through food stability, accessibility, availability, and food utilization (Wheeler & Von Braun, 2013). In return, increased harsh climatic conditions have also affected the suitability of land systems for effective support of increased food productivity hence reducing food availability. In severe cases, climate change has massively affected water systems to support the effective growth of crops and biodiversity.
Ecosystem functioning and arable land farming risk being lost due to the increased aridity rates. With such, livestock, fish production, and the availability of good quality water for farming all end up being affected, hence minimizing food production. Climatic Change disrupts food production systems by disrupting ecosystems and human capital (Wheeler & Von Braun, 2013). Increased harsh climatic conditions deter food distribution and accessibility efforts. Extreme cases of high precipitations and storms impact human capital, which greatly contributes to effective food production and security systems. In cases of intense downpours and increased seal levels leading to storms, roads, storage, and marketing infrastructures are massively damaged. Yet again, electricity grid systems essential to human capital are disrupted, leading to food shortages or delayed and uncertain distribution patterns. Increased cases of flooding bar necessary efforts needed towards food emergency incidences in both urban and rural areas. Such also leads to disruptions in transport networks, which are essential in ascertaining constant accessibility of food. Such aspects all curtail the access to food production and hence threaten the accessibility of food systems.
Be it that may, irregular weather patterns cause uncertainty, affecting food systems’ availability and stability. Risks occur due to unusual climatic patterns. They cause uncertainties in future outcomes of the normal cycles of seasons throughout the year. Increased weather patterns improve future food production planning, ensuring constant food supply flow. However, increased cases of unpredictable weather patterns arising from global warming cause uneven food production patterns, affecting stability of food systems (Connolly-Boutin, & Smit, 2016). Domestic food production becomes highly affected due to scarcity. Extreme global temperatures and flooding lead to low food production rates. With such predicting yields turn out to be challenging as inconsistency of food production also arises. With increased projections of uncertain climatic patterns such as extreme events, the food security status of most people, mostly in disaster-prone areas, will continue experiencing adverse effects. The lack of future information on precipitation and temperatures remains blurred, making it difficult to make proper decisions about agricultural investments.
On the other hand, while food security remains an unresolved paradox, an additional underlying challenge is the misuse of financial assistance by governmental bodies. Misuse of financial support to improve food systems in developing countries is quite rampant. Recipient government officials end up misusing funds to enhance food security systems (Sova, 2019). Corrupt government officials end up channeling aids to improve food security status to other projects. However, at large, the U.S. authorities continue to disregard the misuse of funds aimed at improving food security systems as it has firm monitoring mechanisms put in place to oversee the effective execution of food security supporting programs. Nevertheless, this is quite untrue as in most developing countries, aspects such as poor governance, corruption, and lack of funds are still at large. Research highlight corruption as a key aspect facing successful utilization of humanitarian aid in developing countries (Niyonkuru, 2016). Corruption leads as a major impediment to receiving assistance to enhance food security systems. Limitation of aid reaching individuals and especially those in vulnerable areas, arises. This leads to inequality in social standards, making it difficult to initiate projects to support food production systems. Additionally, Aid is inadvertently diverted from those who need it desperately. This, in turn, could lead to curtailing efforts by donor governments in releasing aids to developing countries. However, to ensure progress, there is a need to shift from agency-specific works to battle, report, and monitor corruption risks in humanitarian projects.
Increased change in climatic trends remains a major threat to food security systems in developing countries. Increased global temperatures arising from human activities have posed a major threat to the consistency of food production systems. It leads to uncertainty and risks of food systems, affecting the accessibility, availability, and stability. This also leads to massive disruption of human capital, which is vital in enhancing proper food production mechanisms. With such unpredictable weather patterns, most countries depend on foreign in boosting their food security systems. However, with increased corrupt governmental officials in developing countries, food security remains a nightmare. With effective monitoring of utilization of foreign aid funds, most developing countries could put proper food security mechanisms into place.
References
Benjamin, D., Por, H. H., & Budescu, D. (2017). Climate change versus global warming: who is susceptible to the framing of climate change?. Environment and Behavior, 49(7), 745-770.
Connolly-Boutin, L., & Smit, B. (2016). Climate change, food security, and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. Regional Environmental Change, 16(2), 385-399.
Krishnamurthy, P. K., Lewis, K., & Choularton, R. J. (2012). Climate Impacts on Food Security and Nutrition—A Review of Existing Knowledge. Met Office and WFP’s Office for Climate Change, Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction: Exeter, U.K.
Niyonkuru, F. (2016). Failure of foreign aid in developing countries: A quest for alternatives. Business and Economics Journal, 7(3), 1-9.
Seeteram, N. (2012). Global Climate Change Vs. Global Warming: What Is the Difference” Global Climate Change” and” Global Warming”?.
Sova, C. (2019). Climate change and food security: A test of U.S. leadership in a fragile world.
Wheeler, T., & Von Braun, J. (2013). Climate change impacts on global food security. Science, 341(6145), 508-513.
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