News on Climate Change from Australia

Australia faces a potato shortage after its toughest season in a decade. Extreme weather in South Australia, the nation’s main potato region, cut yields, causing supermarket shortages. Mitolo Family Farms cites heat, cold, and drought as main factors.

Tasmanian potato growers, who produce the bulk of Australia’s French fries, are having a disastrous harvest. Months of wet weather is making it impossible to get onto paddocks in parts of the state.

Researchers from Australia, Germany, Switzerland and the US have quantified the effect of climate extremes, such as droughts or heatwaves, on the yield variability of staple crops around the world.