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Extreme weather events from severe drought to massive floods negatively influence key agricultural regions worldwide, driven by human-induced climate changes. According to the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, these extreme weather events are projected to increase since climate change intensifies the water cycle, which in turn leads to more intense rainfall and associated flooding, as well as more intense droughts. Recent environmental reports document that global warming is increasing at a steady speed. We will illustrate its impact in this report. In addition, COVID-19 is still having a devastating effect on many people's lives as well.

1. Floods

Record-breaking floods occurred in Henan province, China, during July 2021, caused by intensive rainfall. As of Aug. 2, 2021, provincial authorities have reported the death of 302 people, with 50 more that went missing and 815,000 people were evacuated, 1.1 million were relocated, and 9.3 million people were affected. It not only caused great losses in human lives and property but also has a high potential impact on the national food supplies, as the province is one of China's leading grain producers. According to a report released by the provincial government, the record floods affected 712,000 hectares of crops in Henan, accounting for 9 % of the fall crop area, and damaged about 23,000 hectares. Besides, the disaster may still cause serious damage to the processing, storage, and transportation of summer grain. CropWatch shows that about 116,000 ha of autumn crops in Henan Province were damaged, with 36,000 ha of maize and 31,000 ha of other autumn crops going out of production, which is greater than the government's published data. The heavy precipitation also brought sufficient water for maize growth in other parts of Henan Province, and the increased yields in other areas somewhat compensated for the reduced maize yields caused by the floods, making Henan Province's maize production only 1.1% lower than in 2020.

Figure 5.1 A complete village in Hebei, Henan province, was inundated on July 23, 2021, due to the dam breach caused by floods; source ( https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202107/26/WS60feb99da310efa1bd664784.html).

Several European countries have been affected by massive floods during July 2021, causing the death of 270 people, including 184 in Germany, in addition to the severe damage to infrastructure, mainly in Belgium and Germany. During the flooding event, many farms and livestock in Belgium had to be evacuated, and many fields were damaged and crops destroyed by inundation. The two regions severely affected in Germany were Rhineland-Palatinate and southern North Rhine-Westphalia. Families are currently providing their labor, tractors, and equipment for cleanup, and many fields were submerged and could not be be replanted immediately. In Turkey, the intensive floods in August were also responsible for the death of 70 persons, and 329 people went missing. Kastamonu province is the worst-hit area where several buildings in the town of Bozkurt were destroyed when the Ezine River burst its banks.

Figure 5.2 Protected crops in greenhouses were inundated by intensive floods in Limburg, in the South of Netherlands, source (https://www.hortidaily.com/article/9340224/heavy-rain-causes-severe-damage-to-open-field-fruit-and-vegetable-crops-in-western-europe/)

In western Japan, more than a million people had been urged to seek shelter due to the unprecedented levels of rain that led to intensive floods and landslides during July 2021. As reported by the local government, at least 18 people had died, and 14 went missing in the prefectures of Kumamoto and Kagoshima, where the strength of the floodwaters completely destroyed houses.

2. Wildfires

Last month was the worst July for wildfires on record worldwide, as described by many scientists. Wildfires were severe, particularly in North America, Siberia, Africa, and southern Europe. High temperature and prolonged droughts ignited the forests and grasslands to release 343 megatonnes of carbon, about a fifth higher than the global peak in July 2014, where more than 50% of the carbon came from two regions – North America and Siberia.

In Siberia, the total carbon emissions from wildfires during June and July reached 188 megatonnes, equivalent to 505 megatonnes of carbon dioxide. This amount of carbon dioxide is more than half of the emissions from Germany, Europe’s biggest polluter, in the entire year 2018. Consequently, the region has lost almost 500,000 square kilometers of vegetation to the fires, according to end of July estimates.

In the USA, the National Interagency Fire Center’s situation report listed a total of 39,267 wildfires across the country that had burned over 1.4 million hectares until Aug. 8. In Canada, the number of wildfires was reported by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) as 5,619 wildfires until Aug. 7, which had burned more than 3.7 million hectares.

Figure 5.3 The amount of carbon emissions during 2005 -2020 from Asia and North America compared to global emissions. Source (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/06/last-month-worst-july-wildfires-since-2003)

Another hotspot of wildfires was the Mediterranean region, particularly in Turkey, Italy, Greece, Spain, Algeria, and Tunisia. According to the European Forest Fire Information System, about 128,000 hectares of vegetation were burned in Turkey by the end of July, which is eight times higher than the average. Most of the fires in turkey were mainly in southern provinces such as Antalya, Adana, and Mersin. Overall, three people were killed in the fires, and the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) announced on July 29 that 122 people were affected by the fire while 58 were still hospitalized.

Italy had also suffered from intensive wildfires during July 2021 when 80,000 hectares of vegetation were burnt, four times higher than the 2008-20 average. According to local experts, much of the damage has been in national parks, including ancient UNESCO-protected beech forest in the Aspromonte national park in Calabria, which will need at least 15 years to recover. Scientists attributed most wildfires to global warming that makes heat waves more frequent and intense. However, the minister for the Green Transition, Roberto Cingolani, attributed about 70 percent of fires to humans, particularly those who benefit financially from the fires (e.g., private companies of firefighting workers, plane and helicopter fleets) and those who want to convert land for development or pasture.

Figure 5.4 The burnt area by wildfires during last four months in four Mediterranean countries; Italy, Turkey, Spain, and Greece. Source: (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/06/last-month-worst-july-wildfires-since-2003).

Figure 5.5 A residential area was devastated by wildfires in Manavgat district in Antalya, southern Turkey, on July 29, 2021, as seen from an aerial photo. Source: https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/suspicious-forest-fires-rage-in-turkeys-south-for-a-second-day/news?gallery_image=undefined#big

In Algeria, at least 69 persons lost their lives during their fight against wildfires until Aug. 12. Meteorologists attributed the wildfires to the heatwave that hit North Africa during July and August, with temperatures in Algeria reaching 46 degrees Celsius. According to the Algerian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, about 8,000 hectares have been damaged by wildfires since the beginning of July.

In Tunisia, the temperature in the capital Tunis hit a record of 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) on Aug. 10, 2021. In addition, wildfires were reported in the border regions between Tunisia and Algeria during the last week of August, and more than 2500 hectares of land were damaged.

Despite its vital role in curbing climate change by absorbing greenhouse gases, the Amazon rainforest keeps shrinking. Wildfires that hit the rainforest in Brazil during June and July were responsible for the high deforestation rate, which has increased by 1.8% in June 2021 compared to last year, to 1.062 million hectares, according to national space research agency (Inpe).

3. Drought

Drought hit several regions around the globe during the last three months. The areas with severe drought were Canada and the north USA, South America, Eastern Europe, and Central Africa. During June and July of 2021, about 36% of the USA regions were under severe to extreme drought, threatening recently planted corn, soybean, and spring wheat crops in Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas. California farmers were prompted to leave fields fallow in the western part of the USA. The drought triggered water and energy rationing in several states. Spring wheat was also under drought stress, as estimated by local experts. Moreover, about 41% of Iowa, the nation's top corn producer and No. 2 soybean state, was under severe drought during the last two months, according to the weekly U.S. drought monitor report. In the western Corn Belt, drought in July and August, critical months for corn, has already trimmed the U.S. corn yield average by 2 to 4 bushels per acre.

Figure 5.6 The 3-month Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) indicates the global scale's drought/wet conditions. Source (https://www.drought.gov/international).

In South America, drought continues to hit the Paraná River, one of the leading commercial waterways which runs through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, threatening vast ecosystems. The river has reached its lowest level in nearly 80 years due to a prolonged drought in Brazil that scientists attribute to climate change. According to the national water institute of Argentina, the low water level of the Paraná River is the worst since 1944. The Paraná waterway is of paramount importance since its aquifers supply fresh water to some 40 million persons in Brazil and Argentina. As a main waterway in South America, almost 3.9 million tonnes of goods, including soybeans and corn, were moved on the Parana system last year. The low water level in the river caused a decline of imported goods from an average of 5.6 million tonnes between 2017 and 2019.

Figure 5.7 A photo was taken on July 29, 2021, showed the shallow water level in the Paraná River due to the severe drought and scares rainfall over South America. Source: (https://www.register-herald.com/region/drought-hits-south-america-river-threatening-vast-ecosystem/article_cd52843d-f489-576b-81ee-c6aedb7ee5f6.html)

4. Desert locust

A limited to moderate swarm breading is now taking place over eastern Africa. Due to the unstable security and political situation in northern Ethiopia, the control operations were hampered. Good rainfall over the region during June and July may help more swarms to bread and laying eggs. It is expected that the mature swarms in northeast Ethiopia will finish laying eggs in areas of recent rain, including adjacent areas of southern Djibouti. Hatching and band formation is expected to take place this month in Afar, causing locust numbers to increase and leading to the formation of new immature swarms from late September onwards. If the necessary survey and control operations cannot be carried out safely in Afar, then a greater number of swarms are likely to form than originally anticipated that would migrate east and threaten eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia in October. In Yemen, small-scale breeding is underway in the interior. Elsewhere, the situation remains calm, and no significant developments are likely.

Figure 5.8 The current distribution and movement of different desert locust groups over African horn and Yemen. Source (http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/en/info/info/index.html).

5. COVID-19

Since early 2020, when WHO announced COVID-19 as a pandemic, high restrictions on movement were applied worldwide. Consequently, nearly 2.37 billion people (or 30% of the global population) lacked access to adequate food in 2020. As estimated by WFP, about 272 million people are already or are at risk of becoming acutely food-insecure in 2020-2021 due to COVID-19. Moreover, the prices of crops such as maize, wheat, and rice were about 43%, 12%, and 10% above their January 2020 levels, as estimated by FAO. Although the hunger trend was increasing even before COVID-19, the pandemic was a setback to all UN efforts to reduce poverty and hunger worldwide. Currently, the intensive vaccination process worldwide could help end the pandemic or minimize its impacts on people's health and food security.