A study conducted at the Purdue University sheds light on the economic ramifications of climate change. The report states that urban workers from developing countries will be among those who are the hardest hit by climate change. The upward spiraling cost of food products will push the urban man to the brink of poverty.  The researchers examined the drastic effects of climate change like heat waves, drought and heavy rains in the 16 developing countries. However, it was concluded that the urban population in countries like Mexico, Bangladesh and Zambia were the most at risk due to rising food prices caused due to adverse effects of climate change.  Read more about Global Warming Insurance

The effects of extreme climate change can be directly observed in agricultural productivity which leads to a phenomenal increase in the price of food grains which form the staple food for economically backward classes of developing countries.

Noah Diffenbaugh who is the associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences and interim director of Purdue’s Climate Change Research Center, and who co-led the study stated that studies, have indicated that there will be a marked increase in the frequency and intensity of heat waves, floods and droughts in many areas due to climate change and global warming. So it is imperative to pinpoint the countries that will experience conspicuous changes in their poverty rates so that informed policy decisions can be made in anticipation of the adverse climate change.

The data used for the studies included the records of the late 20th century and the projections for the late 21st century. These were used to create a framework for the analysis of adverse climate change, their impact on the production of food grains and its effect on the poverty rates of each country.  It was concluded by Thomas Hertel, a distinguished professor of agricultural economics and co-leader of the study that even though the urban people only contributed modestly to the poverty rates in most countries this group appears to be the most vulnerable to the changes in food grain production due to climate change.

Food expenses form the bulk of the living expenditure for the poor, so even though a rise in food grain prices may marginally benefit the agricultural workforce the effects of such changes would be detrimental for the urban poor. These findings are important in the light of the United Nations projections which predict a rise in the population movement from rural to urban areas in developing countries.

The findings are particularly worrisome because nearly 1 billion of the world’s poor have to make do with less than a dollar a day, and the situation can get quite grim for these people in the event of extreme climate change.

It was further identified that if the greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, the maximum value for wet, dry and hot extremes would see a conspicuous and significant increase in terms of intensity and magnitude. The results were startling to say the least; with a 2,700 percent and 800 percent rise predicted in heat waves and droughts in the Mediterranean and South East Asia respectively. These projections, when used in tandem with their impact on the grain production of countries, reveals the economic impact of adverse climate change on these countries.

The team is expected to work on a better analysis model that will enable a more comprehensive assessment of the link between climate change and poverty rate.