Severe Climate Due to Global Warming Compels Multitude into 'Hunger, Poverty', Says Oxfam

Severe climate caused by global warming forces food prices up putting the world's poorest people at risk, warns Oxfam. The warning comes in the wake of people in the drought-hit Horn of Africa and Afghanistan facing food shortages due to sky- rocketing prices of wheat, sorghum and maize.

Oxfam said soaring prices threatened food security, and pushed poor people into hunger and poverty, since they would a larger proportion of their income on feeding themselves and their families.

Extreme weather conditions such as the 2010 drought, heatwave and fires in Russia pushed global grain prices by upto 85 per cent, and this year's monsoon floods in South East Asia increased the price of rice by between 19 per cent and 30 per cent in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.

"From the Horn of Africa and South East Asia to Russia and Afghanistan, a year of floods, droughts and extreme heat has helped push tens of millions of people into hunger and poverty," Kelly Dent, of Oxfam, said.

"This will only get worse as climate change gathers pace and agriculture feels the heat.

Governments must act now in Durban to protect our food supply and save millions from slipping into hunger and poverty," she added.

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Oxfam also called on Durban climate talks participants to ratify a legally-binding climate change deal and said governments must take measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to counter global warming.

The body also called on the government to render monetary aid to enable poor people tackle climate change.

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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report had earlier said global warming impacts were already being experienced through rising temperatures.

Source-ANI