Climate and weather: ‘It is always an issue, and never right!'
- Weather is the temperature, the air moisture, wind, the sunshine, and the rainfall. Climate is the average weather conditions in 30 years periods.
- Since agriculture started, temperatures do increase (still a geological cold period).
- Farmers have learned to understand and adapt climate conditions. Changes are difficult.
- Agriculture and the food system contribute about 26% to the global manmade Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
- Agriculture is both a cause and a victim of climate change.
Weather is the temperature, the air moisture, wind, the sunshine, and the rainfall. Weather is the most important factor for agriculture. No talk with farmers without to topic weather. It is never good: too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, too windy, to sunny, to cloudy, etc. In deserts, in the humid tropics, in arctic areas, in mountains, in temperate regions, and in cities is the weather different, and agriculture must fit to the weather conditions. Agriculture has developed adapted crops and livestock species, can impact on weather with wind breaks, does irrigate and drain water. Housing for crops and animals is worldwide practiced, but due to costs only for profitable commodities like vegetables, herbs, chicken and dairy. Nevertheless, most of agriculture is done outdoor.
The adaptation is the knowledge of climate, the long-term condition of weather. Usually, it is measured and assessed for 50 years. Agriculture can predict weather with the knowledge of the local climate and plan suitable agriculture. In the history of the Earth, the climate has significantly changed several times (Judd et al. 2024). There were periods of million years without ice on the planet, and vis-a-versa the whole planet was mostly covered several km high with ice. The humans appeared in a period of relatively cold climate and have developed agriculture under globally cold conditions (Figure above).
The impact of humans is changing the world in very short time. We call it the climate change, despite such changes have happened often in the history of the planet. But the greenhouse effect of the use of fossil energy (oil, gas, coal from the carbon period hundreds of millions of years ago, a hot period) is changing climate so fast, that humans and agriculture has difficulties to adapt.
Recent settlements, infrastructure, habits and agriculture are not flexible for fast changing climate (Figure right). The weather, what is the basis of climate, is observed as extreme, because it was not experienced so often in the past.
Farmers‘ sayings, also known as farmers’ wisdom, are traditional sayings that are often based on observations of the weather and natural cycles. They are traditional weather proverbs that have been passed down through generations. These sayings are often based on long-term observations of weather patterns and agricultural cycles. These sayings have been passed down through generations and often serve as rules of thumb for weather forecasts or agricultural decisions. Those agriculture weather rules reflect the knowledge and experiences of the rural population and show how closely people used to be connected to nature. Although they are not always scientifically accurate, they offer interesting insights into the traditional understanding of weather and natural phenomena. These rules help farmers and the rural population to predict weather conditions and plan agricultural activities.
The climate is different all over the world. It rains little in the deserts and a lot in the rainforests. On the rainy side of the mountains, clouds rain down; in the rain shadow, there is no rain. In some regions it rarely rains, in others only seasonally, in others all year round. It is warmest all year round at the equator and coldest at the poles. The higher a place is, the colder it is. Sunlight is strongest in cloud-free areas. Climate diagrams show those conditions (Zepner et al. 2020).
Weather extremes due to the climate change will increase in future, and are doing already now, as studies of 157 extreme weathers have shown in 2025 (World Weather Attribution 2025). Agriculture will be impacted more often. Climate change is dramatically reshaping the planet’s weather patterns, increasing both the frequency and severity of extreme events worldwide (IPCC 2021). From 1995 to 2024, over 9,700 extreme weather events were recorded, including heatwaves, storms, floods, and droughts. These disasters claimed more than 830,000 lives and caused economic losses exceeding 4.5 trillion USD, highlighting the immense human and financial toll of our warming world.
Scientific attribution studies confirm that human-driven climate change is amplifying the severity and frequency of most extreme weather events. Heatwaves, heavy rainfall, floods, droughts, and wildfires are all being intensified by global warming, creating cascading impacts on health, livelihoods, infrastructure, and economies. The trends are clear: without urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, extreme weather will continue to escalate, affecting more people, more frequently, and at greater cost.
Photo 1: Floods are a disaster for agriculture, people and wildlife. The extreme flood in southeast Asia in 2011 flooded more than 450,000 hectares of farmland in Cambodia, including the capital Phnom Penh. Agriculture was damaged severely.
Photo 2: Droughts can occur everywhere and anytime. The Murray-Darling Basin in Southern Australia was stroked many times by drought from 1996 to 2009 and noted as the worst drought recorded since European settlement. Agriculture was lacking water severely and had to use river water resources for irrigation. Weather extremes like the 2000s Australian drought are often caused by global climatic phenomena such as "El Niño" . It occurs irregularly and unpredictably every few years (2 to 7) with varying intensity in the Pacific subtropics and tropics. In 2010 and 2011, "La Niña", the cold phase after "El Niño", interrupted the drought. interrupted the drought. Drought is the most feared weather extreme for agriculture, because they are unpredictable, and farming systems are not resilient to such extremes. Food insecurity and hunger is possible.
Photo 3: In 2017, Category 5 Hurricane Maria severely devastated many islands in the Caribbean. It was the deadliest and costliest storm Dominica has ever experienced. The entire country was almost destroyed. After the short but extreme weather catastrophe, the people started to grow food again: instead of the staple foods coconut and banana, yams and taro. Tuber crops are not as badly affected by hurricanes as bananas and coconut palms and grow quickly.
Photo 4: Fire is another major natural and weather-related danger for agriculture. Crops and fodder in the fields, grazing animals, agricultural equipment and buildings destroyed and, finally, people can be injured or killed. Fire protection has been a challenge for agriculture for thousands of years. In the world's grasslands in Africa and Australia, wildfires are a natural occurrence. They help to remove dead plant material and allow new food to grow in the ashes (Gowlett et al. 2017). Unfortunately, many animals such as insects and vertebrates also die in the process. Basically, however, these are stable biotopes that require a wildfire (Croker et al. 2023). Some plants need bush fire to germinate (e.g., Eucalyptus ).
Photo 5: Unusual frost and strong snowfall are always challenging for agriculture. Not only do plants and animals suffer or even die as a result, but necessary infrastructure for daily agricultural needs is also particularly at risk. Road traffic is disrupted, which also affects deliveries and sales from farms. In highly integrated systems (purchasing of operating resources, servicing of machinery and equipment, and animal sales are tightly scheduled and can only be changed to a limited extent. Even one day of downtime is problematic. For example, the severe frost and snowfall in northern Germany and the Netherlands in 2005 destroyed power lines because the power cables became too heavy due to ice and the pylons buckled. The power outage in a large region was problematic for intensive livestock farming. Automatic feeding and climate control systems, milking machines and lighting for stables did not work for several days. This was disastrous because the large number of animals per farm could not be fed or milked by hand. With this experience, farmers have purchased emergency power generators and most of the power lines are now underground. Heavy frost cause water pipes and technical equipment such as feeding machines, manure scrapers and slurry pumps to freeze. Diesel can clump together and prevent tractors from running. This can cause considerable problems during prolonged frosts, as happened in the extreme frost and snowfall in 2013 in Northern Germany and Denmark.
Climate change itself, and not only the increasing numbers of extreme weather will challenge societies and agriculture. The water level of the oceans will increase and endanger significant areas with human settlements and agriculture.
Photo 6: In the Pacific Islands, particularly Kiribati, climate change poses a severe threat to agriculture and food security. Rising sea levels are the most critical issue, as Kiribati is made up of very low-lying atolls. Saltwater intrusion contaminates soils and freshwater supplies, reducing the ability to grow traditional crops such as taro, breadfruit, and coconut. Increasingly irregular rainfall and more frequent droughts further limit freshwater availability for farming. As local food production declines, Kiribati has become more dependent on imported foods, which are expensive and vulnerable to supply disruptions. This has weakened all aspects of food security and increased reliance on processed foods, contributing to health problems. Overall, Kiribati demonstrates how climate change disproportionately threatens food systems in small island developing states that have contributed little to global greenhouse gas emissions. In Kiribati and other Pacific Island nations, actions to address climate change impacts on agriculture and food security focus mainly on adaptation. Farmers are shifting to salt-tolerant and drought-resistant crops, using raised garden beds to reduce soil salinization, and improving rainwater harvesting to secure freshwater supplies. Traditional farming systems, such as giant swamp taro pits, are being modified to cope with rising salinity. Coastal protection measures, including mangrove planting, help reduce erosion and saltwater intrusion. Governments and communities are also strengthening local food systems to reduce dependence on imports and promoting nutrition education. At a broader level, Kiribati advocates internationally for climate mitigation and long-term planning, including “migration with dignity,” recognizing that adaptation alone may not be sufficient in the future.