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We’re already feeling the effects of climate change.

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Intense heat waves, longer fire seasons, droughts and floods – 

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the impacts of a warmer planet are all around us. And as global 

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global temperatures continue to rise, we’ll experience even more changes to our planet. 

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New NASA research suggests that, with high greenhouse gas emissions, 

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we’ll see declines in global crop yields for maize, corn, 

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as early as 2030. 

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Shifting rainfall patterns, higher temperatures, and increased atmospheric carbon levels 

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levels are likely to affect where, and how much of, staple crops like corn, 

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soybeans, wheat, and rice can be grown.

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Using multiple highly accurate supercomputer models, researchers projected future global conditions based on 

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greenhouse gas emissions. They ran those results through models that simulate how crops

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respond to changes in things like rainfall, temperatures, and atmospheric carbon dioxide. 

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By using multiple computer models, the teams could compare

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results and be more confident in what they learned. 

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Overall, corn and wheat showed the clearest results. 

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By 2069-2099, global corn crop yields could decrease 24%. 

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Corn is grown around the world, with large quantities grown in countries close to the equator. 

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Rising temperatures in this region will put stress on those plants, 

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leading to lower crop yields. 

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Wheat, on the other hand, grows mostly in more temperate regions, like the Northern U.S and Canada,

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North China Plains, Central Asia, Southern Australia, Europe, and Russia. 

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Warmer global temperatures and higher atmospheric carbon dioxide 

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could increase wheat crop yields up to 17%. 

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However, these increases will likely level off by 2050 or so. 

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Changes to our global agriculture are likely to happen relatively soon, 

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even in scenarios where we significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions.

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The more we understand about how our global food systems 

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will change in a warmer climate, the better prepared we can be. 

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NASA