University of Hamburg unveils fresh research on global warming

In a recent study, scientists from the Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability at the University of Hamburg have highlighted the urgent need to address climate change, particularly in relation to combined heat and drought extremes in major maize-growing regions. This research is part of the CLICCS (Climate, Climatic Change and Society) excellence cluster at the University of Hamburg, a research consortium that brings together experts from various disciplines to investigate climate change in its entirety, including its impacts on society.

The study, published in IOP Science, utilised a large number of climate simulations to investigate the frequency of combined heat and drought extremes in different global warming scenarios. The findings suggest that with a global warming of two degrees Celsius, every 14 years, four or more of the most important maize-growing regions could be affected by heat and drought simultaneously. This could lead to significantly less maize available worldwide, posing a significant threat to food security.

In East Asia, the risk of such events at two degrees of global warming triples, and in South Asia, it doubles. Leonard Bochert, a co-author of the study from the University of Hamburg, emphasises the urgency of keeping global warming well below two degrees to prevent these extreme cases. Bochert also suggests that local adaptations and more heat- and drought-resistant crop varieties are necessary to be best prepared for heat and drought.

The CLICCS excellence cluster has been financially supported by the federal government and the city of Hamburg since 2019. It operates jointly with the Centrum für Erdsystemforschung und Nachhaltigkeit (CEN) and other institutional partners, focusing on the entirety of climate change and its societal impacts.

A press release about the study is available from the University of Hamburg for those who wish to learn more about the findings and their implications. The researchers stress the importance of immediate action to mitigate climate change and prevent the potential devastating consequences of combined heat and drought events in major maize-growing regions.