Climate change is causing the tropics to widen, with possible impacts on the global food supply. Scientists examined five different measures of the width of the tropical belt, and found it expanded by between 2 and 4.8 degrees latitude since 1979.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in its series of reports this year that serious impacts on food and water supplies lie ahead, including:
- 75-250 million people across Africa could face water shortages by 2020
- Crop yields could increase by 20% in East and South East Asia, but decrease by up to 30% in Central and South Asia
- Agriculture fed by rainfall could drop by 50% in some African countries by 2020
The scientists behind the new study note that the tropical zone appears to be expanding much faster than predicted by computer models.
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