Another Climate Change Headache For Farmers: Tropical Crop Pests
Move North As Weather Warms Up  Posted on  "Another Climate
Change Headache For Farmers: Tropical Crop Pests Move North As
Weather Warms Up"  crop blight Hotter, more extreme weather
induced by climate change is already creating huge problems for
farmers, who are struggling to keep up production in the face of
severe drought and unpredictable storms. Now, a new study finds
that climate change is also driving hundreds of new crop pest
species towards the poles.  The study, published in Nature
Climate Change, examined 612 crop pests and pathogens. Tropical
insects, fungi, and bacteria are moving at a rate of 1.7 miles a
year toward regions normally considered too cold for them to
thrive. Warmer weather has greatly expanded these pests’
territories, threatening crops unequipped with defenses against
these new enemies.  American species are already feeling the
effects. The mountain pine beetle, for instance, has migrated to
warming forests in the Pa