Agriculture and drought : Nature : Nature Publishing Group

Agriculture and drought : Nature : Nature Publishing Group:

 Drought has long been a scourge of humanity and a factor in war and conflict. The current crisis in Syria, for example, comes in the wake of one of its worst ever droughts. Periodic droughts occur because of global temperature cycles in the oceans and atmosphere. But although we understand the causes better, we are still at the mercy of an inherently chaotic weather system.

Add human-induced climate change to the mix and there is an extra incentive to do better. The greenhouse effect is predicted to raise temperatures and prolong droughts (page S2). Many agricultural pests are expected to thrive (S15). All these pressures are putting a squeeze on supplies of fresh water. Farmers need to know how to grow more while using less of this precious commodity (S4).