| Worst Climate Disasters of 2023 and Their Effects on Global Hunger World Food Program | |
| go to original January 22, 2024 |
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Oct. 28: Soldiers stand guard during a food delivery, in the aftermath of Hurricane Otis in Acapulco, Mexico. (Felix Marquez/AP)
The climate crisis tightened its grip in 2023. July was the hottest month ever recorded. Over the summer, sea surface temperatures soared and surpassed the highest levels on record. On November 17, the Earth’s surface temperature briefly averaged 2 degrees above preindustrial levels – a threshold the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned could have catastrophic consequences.
The climate crisis is causing more frequent and intense extreme weather events. Over the past decade, 1.7 billion people have been affected by extreme weather and climate-related disasters like hurricanes, cyclones and droughts. These disasters continue to drive more and more families into severe levels of hunger.
Hurricane Otis Lands in Mexico
On October 25, Category 5 Hurricane Otis landed over Acapulco in the Mexican Pacific. It was one of the strongest storms ever recorded to hit the Pacific Coast of Mexico. According to state reports, Hurricane Otis killed 47 people, destroyed 50,000 homes and damaged an additional 273,844 homes.
On top of El Niño, scientists say human-induced climate change fueled Hurricane Otis’ swift intensification: Before picking up, Hurricane Otis passed over a warm patch of ocean that was about 88 degrees – more than enough ocean heat to fuel a “monster storm.”
The United Nations in Mexico responded to the affected area, in coordination with the government and local authorities. The U.N. World Food Programme does not currently work in Mexico and needs to be invited in by a country’s government to begin operations.
Extreme weather events drive hunger by:
- Destroying agricultural land, livestock and crops.
- Displacing families from their homes, which cuts them off from steady sources of food.
- Degrading land, which leaves small-scale farmers without the means to grow their own food.
The U.N. World Food Programme is working hard to meet the immediate and long-term needs of communities affected by the climate crisis.
Learn more about the U.N. World Food Programme’s climate action work
Learn more about how climate change affects world hunger
Read the rest at World Food Program USA
Related: What We’re Getting Wrong in the Fight to End Hunger (TEDWomen)
Related: Global Warming and Illegal Practices, Threats of Fishing in Mexico (Quadratin Jalisco)
Learn about Vallarta Food Bank
Learn about Outside the Bowl - Feeding the Hungry
Learn about Banco de Alimentos de Puerto Vallarta
Learn about Network of Food Banks of Mexico
Learn about Action Against Hunger
Learn about John Ozzello Memorial Food Bank
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