Can we grow climate change-resistant crops?

Will it be possible to feed the planet in a warmer world?

The production of key crops like cereals can be hit hard by heatwaves and droughts. In this edition of Climate Now, we are asking if scientists can uncover the secrets of the most resistant plants to 'climate-proof' our food.

Before that, let's take a look at the latest data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service. 

The latest data shows that globally we have just experienced the third warmest June on record, with temperatures 0.3 degrees above the 1991-2020 average.

In Europe, June saw an extraordinary heatwave with individual temperature records set in many parts of Europe, including 32.5 degrees at Banak in northern Norway - almost 20 degrees above the average high for June, 40.6 degrees at Rochefort in western France - again, almost 20 degrees above their average high, and 40.4 degrees at Knin in Croatia, 12 degrees above the average high for June.

Last month also saw the drought in northern Italy becoming more severe.  

If you just look at this Sentinel satellite image from June 2020 above compared to the one below of the same region in 2022, you can see the difference.

And then on this graph of soil moisture anomaly, you can see how the soil is drier than average across much of Italy, and across a whole band from Portugal all the way across Europe to the Caspian Sea.

As the population of our warming planet grows, we are going to need strains of wheat and barley that are better able to cope with heatwaves and drought. Such cereals are at the basis of our food system, as they provide essential calories for people and animals. 

The problem is that the effects of climate change are already reducing these plants' ability to produce food.

"We have yield loss due to, for