According to researchers, there is a 90 percent probability that by 2100 the minimum temperatures in the tropics and sub-tropical regions will be higher than the maximums so far recorded in those areas.
The effect on crop-growing in those regions would be dire, according to the projections based on direct observations and data culled from 23 computer models on the planet's evolving climate patterns.
"The stresses on global food production from temperature alone are going to be huge, and that doesn't take into account water supplies stressed by the higher temperatures," said David Battisti, a University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor.
In the tropics, the warmest temperatures will cut maize and rice harvests by 20 to 40 percent, the researchers said.
The hotter weather will also reduce the moisture in the soil, cutting yields even further.( 文章阅读网：www.sanwen.net )
Some three billion people, or half the world's population, currently live in tropical and sub-tropical regions, and their number is set to double by the end of the century.
These regions stretch from northern India, southern China to much of Australia and all of Africa, and also extend from the southern United States to northern Argentina and southern Brazil.
星期四，一项新的研究警告称，由于气候变化，世界上一半的人口将在本世纪末面临食物短缺的问题。
根据调查，有百分之90的概率，在热带和亚热带地区的最低温度2100将高于这些地区迄今为止有记录的值。
对这些地区的作物生长的影响将是可怕的，据预测，基于直接观察和数据从23个计算机模型在气候变化中。
“气温本身对于全球粮食生产的影响将十分巨大，这还没有考虑到高温所导致的水供应的压力，”戴维说，巴提斯蒂，华盛顿大学大气科学教授。
在热带地区，最热的温度将减少百分之40到20的玉米和水稻的收成，研究人员说。
炎热的天气也会减少土壤中的水分，进而进一步减少产量。（文章阅读网：www.sanwen.net）
大约有三十亿人，或者说世界上一半的人口，目前生活在热带和亚热带地区，而且他们的数量将在本世纪末加倍。
这些地区从印度北部、华南到澳大利亚的大部分地区和非洲大陆，也从南部的阿根廷到巴西北部和南部。
