The world could be facing one of the worst climate-driven food crises in years - and scientists say an unusually powerful El Niño is to blame.

Here’s a worrying one.

The World Food Programme is raising the alarm that a powerful El Niño weather pattern could tip nearly 49 million more people into acute hunger by the end of next year. That would bring the global total to a staggering 274 million.

And the odds are high. Scientists are putting an 81 per cent chance on this El Niño being exceptionally strong, with Pacific Ocean temperatures hitting levels not seen in decades, reports cbinews.tv.

So what does that actually mean? The phenomenon is expected to trigger a brutal mix of droughts, floods and erratic rainfall, wreaking havoc on crops and food production in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions.

Central America and Southern Africa are expected to bear the brunt, with a sharp rise in severe food insecurity as millions more struggle to put enough food on the table.

As if that wasn’t enough, the WFP also warns that conflict in the Middle East, combined with these weather-related crop failures, could send food prices soaring even higher, piling more pressure on families already at breaking point.

And there’s another problem. Cuts in international funding have weakened food-security monitoring systems, making it much harder to spot emerging crises before they spiral out of control.

The agency says it is expanding early assistance programmes in 18 countries, but it’s clear that governments and humanitarian partners need to act now to prepare for what could become one of the most severe climate-driven food emergencies in years.

Credit: cbinews.tv

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