Climate Models Spell Hard Times for Tropical Farmers

When Andy Jarvis wants to explain to locals how future climate change will affect agriculture in the tropics, he uses a familiar landmark: a mountain. A 2-degree-Celsius increase in temperature — the anticipated rise from climate change in the next 40 years — is roughly equivalent to a 500-meter change in elevation, he said. Farmers growing at an elevation of 1,500 meters will need to move crops up to 2,000 meters.