A new study from the University of Exeter and the University of Oxford in England shows that climate change is pushing insect and fungal pest populations towards the poles. Scientists also said the bugs are destroying crops and farmland along the way.
A new study from the University of Exeter and the University of Oxford in England shows that climate change is pushing insect and fungal pest populations towards the poles. Scientists also said the bugs are destroying crops and farmland along the way.
By studying 612 different crop pests and viruses from Africa and parts of Asia, the researchers found that they were shifting locations at a rate of around two miles a year.
Doctor Dan Bebber from the University of Exeter said: “The most convincing hypothesis is that global warming has caused this shift… If crop pests continue to march polewards as the Earth warms, the combined effects of a growing world population and the increased loss of crops to pests will pose a serious threat to global food security.”
The cause of this shift and growth might have to do with the increasing temperatures around the world that are allowing insect species to travel where they normally wouldn’t be able to survive.
What do you think? Is climate change responsible for the spread of insect and fungal pests around the world?
