‘Cool farms’ mask the extent of global warming

Whereas urban development generates pockets of hot air, irrigated fields tend to cool things down, they say – and there is evidence that the effects have been felt in California for over a century.

… A rollback of the cooling effect of irrigation in the face of continued global warming could mean that California will be hit by substantial warming, say the researchers. The same is likely to be true of other regions of the world. India, Pakistan and China have become huge irrigators over the past 50 years, but the growth of irrigated areas is slowing down.

This may mean that irrigated regions, which now provide about 40% of global food production, will feel more than their share of warming in the future. In turn, this will inevitably have an impact on food security.

NewScientist Environment