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Hunter Cutting

New weather patterns threaten U.S. breadbasket - 0 views

www.ipsnews.net/news.asp

climate change impact USA agriculture Midwest temperature humidity flooding extreme weather heavy precipitation events frost_free_days

shared by Hunter Cutting on 24 Jul 10 - Cached
  • New Weather Patterns Threaten U.S. Breadbasket
  • The Midwest climate has already become wetter and warmer, said Gene Takle, an atmospheric scientist at Iowa State University.
  • One of Takle's studies used Iowa's experience to show the stress already showing up in the Midwest states, which are major food exporters to other countries as well. For example, precipitation has risen gradually in Iowa over the past century, but can vary widely from year to year. Springs now are wetter, and autumns drier. That can make corn-planting difficult, but dry the grain more quickly in the fall. Records show a rise in absolute humidity, threatening crops with a higher risk of disease and harmful fungi.
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  • "Climate change is happening at a much greater and accelerated pace than we ever expected 30 years ago," said Richard Leopold, director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Huge floods in 2008, which left the state's second-biggest city, Cedar Rapids, with massive downtown destruction, intensified the debate, with a new set of recommendations coming from a state panel by the end of the year. "If we decide as a state to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a hurry, we can actually do it," said Sen. Rob Hogg, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids. "There are a lot of things we can do for no cost, and others we can do for very little cost."
  • Summer storms already can be more intense, and the Midwest has fought to avoid major flooding this year.
  • The records Takle analysed showed Iowa averages five more frost-free days a year than in 1950. But that doesn't mean more time to grow crops, because of changes in temperature and precipitation patterns. Generally, Iowa now has warmer winters, but fewer extremely hot summer days. Overall, the Midwest is expected to warm through the middle of the century, but not as much as other parts of the country.
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