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Rising Global Temperature Leading To Pest Boom   arrow

Rising Global Temperature Leading To Pest Boom

One thing you may have noticed this summer is the sheer amount of pests. Not only that, but you may have noticed the lack of the usual pollinating bugs. Well, while insecticides and rising temperatures can lower the amount of good, healthy insects; pest love it. Rising global temperatures are leading to a boom in the number of insects devouring crops worldwide. Scientists are even saying this could lead to a future food shortage.

According to the research, the global yield losses of wheat, maize, and rice crops to pests are projected to increase. The increase is up to twenty-five percent per degree Celsius the world gets hotter. Hence, the rising global temperature is leading to a pest boom.

“The impact of insects because of climate change could be at least as great and perhaps greater than the impact of climate on crop itself directly,” Josh Tewksbury, a research professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and one of the authors of the study told ABC News. “The major finding is that we’re underestimating the degree to which climate change is going to impact our ability to feed the world.”

Study Found

The study found that in the U.S., the world’s largest producer of maize, we could be looking at a massive increase in insect-induced losses. By 2050 under current climate warming trajectories, a total reduction of almost 20 million tons annually can be expected.

Meanwhile, the world’s top rice producer, China, could expect future insect-induced losses of over 27 million tons annually by 2050. Wheat produced in European countries will also see a huge crop loss to insects. France alone will lose roughly 2.5 million tons of total wheat production by 2050.

Researchers looked at the impact that insects currently have on these crops for this study. They then calculated the potential for crop damage through 2050. They did so by adding robust climate projection data, crop yield statistics, insect metabolic rates, and demographic information.

“Insects get hungrier, eat more, their metabolism goes up and in the temperate zone, we predict that those insects will reproduce faster. It will get bigger populations every summer,” said Tewksbury.

The University of Vermont

Scott Merrill, a professor at the University of Vermont and one of the authors of the study, He stated that he hopes this research will help people begin to find solutions to pest increases. One might be using natural predators to combat insects. Such predators as parasitic wasps and ladybugs, who will also experience a population boom due to climate change.

“Those are natural enemies that can be used as biological control and they should be experiencing some of the same dynamics that we see with the pest,” said Merrill.

While the goal is to hold corporations to higher standards when it comes to pollution, you can help at home. Should you have issues with pests, make sure to use a natural pest control company as well as planting gardens, recycling, turning off lights when you leave a room, and generally being a friend to the earth.