I previously 👇 documented 20 mechanisms through which climate change is 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 disrupting food production.

Below I am adding to the list including several newly documented mechanisms. 

 *thread*

Several primary impacts relate to altered soil & plant chemistry & biology:

1. Disruption of the phosphorous cycle - the second most vital element for plants after nitrogen
https://t.co/469VD58O9x
2. Decreased content of key nutrients in major crops 

https://t.co/NollJV7ey7
3. Reduced chill hours required for many plants to bloom normally in the spring

https://t.co/yfHFIPZWDt
Other additional primary impacts include:

4. Fossil fuel pollution impacts on crops - this is not a result of climate change per se, but is included since it is due to the same root cause (fossil fuel use):
https://t.co/JJ2Sd0PImH
5. Severe crop damage from wind storms - in this case, ~$7.5 Billion in damage from a single storm:

https://t.co/zGxdZ43wei
6. Also wind (& heat) related - increasing prevalence of ‘furnace winds’. 

-these are as bad as they sound - they can damage crops in a few short hours:

https://t.co/43Zh8GhzY6
7. And another phenomenon that is an intensification of the existing- “flash droughts”

https://t.co/sDoYbAJUnA
New secondary factors include:

1. Hoarding - even at the national/international scale - something we have disturbingly see with #COVIDー19.

Don't expect your neighbours and allies to come to the rescue:
https://t.co/T9FAWPFFl8
2. Farmer mental health taking a toll - in the U.S. (https://t.co/V5EQraftiu) and internationally, in extreme cases leading to suicide (https://t.co/VFIe2ipZZy)
Most worryingly, we are now seeing a rapid increase in frequency of extreme weather, whereby farmers are being devastated by 2, 3 or sometimes more incidents in short succession. Recent examples:

a) South Korea hit by a succession of typhoons: https://t.co/UlTGsImjXB
b) In the US: flooding, drought and a derecho storm in Iowa

https://t.co/ZCbQTb9EgR
c) in the UK - Farmers have experienced 'pretty much every weather extreme possible' over the past 12 months

https://t.co/6UKaRuChMo
d) some Australian vineyards have faced "frost, flood, insect attack, bushfire & one of the worst droughts on record— all in the last 18 months"  

 https://t.co/czfBLFlIwV

More from Climate change

I don't have time to make this detailed, but here's a little thread about the world's first major politically-charged blackout that was blamed on renewables, in South Australia, in 2016............

On September 28, 2016, an unprecedented tropical storm progressed rapidly across South Australia. Truly - this thing was unusual. The sky folded in on itself. It tore towns to bits.


Australia's @climatecouncil pointed out that the storm was so unusual at least partly due to the influence of climate change, and that this is due to get worse.

https://t.co/76ekkfJpR8


I'm going to use brief snippets from my book to fill this out! The storm's primary impact on the grid was the destruction of several major transmission lines. When I say destruction - I mean they snapped like twigs.


Here's what happened in the following seconds:

- A voltage spike from the line falls
- Wind turbines automatically shut off due to software settings that trigger shutdown during a spike
- The interconnector to Vic tried to compensate, failed and died
- All of SA blacked out

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