CNN reporter Bard Wilkinson writes that a study by MIT researchers finds that by the end of the century China’s North Plain region will experience heatwaves that could kill healthy people within six hours. Wilkinson explains that the findings are, “worrying because many of the region's 400 million people are farmers exposed to climactic conditions.”
New research by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir finds that the North China Plain could face deadly heat waves by the end of the century unless measures are taken to curb carbon emissions, reports Damian Carrington for The Guardian. Eltahir found that there already has been a, “substantial increase in extreme heatwaves on the plain in the past 50 years.”
A new study by led by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir finds that climate change could cause the North China Plain, China’s most populous agricultural region, to face deadly heatwaves by 2100, reports Isabelle Gerretsen for the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “The intensity of those heatwaves means that survival of humans would be questionable,” says Eltahir.
Researchers utilized weather data from the region between Texas, North Dakota, and Ohio to see if an increase in crop growth had an effect on area climate change. Kimberly Hickok writes for Science that there is "strong indication" that the regional changes in climate in the late 20th century can be attributed to “agriculture, and not changing sea surface temperature."
In this video, Reuters spotlights how MIT researchers have developed a new sensor that can be applied to plant leaves and can identify when a plant is experiencing a water shortage. Prof. Michael Strano explains that the sensor allows users to, “detect the onset of water stress long before the tissue starts to be harmed.”
Prof. Michael Strano has developed “a sensor that can be “printed” onto a plant’s leaf and transmit data from the plant itself about if it’s experiencing water stress,” writes Kristin Toussaint for metro.
MIT researchers have developed a new sensor that can be applied to the leaf of a plant and could be used to help predict droughts, reports Alyssa Meyers for The Boston Globe. Prof. Michael Strano explains that in the future, “One of the most useful ways of using this sensor is to design more stress-tolerant crops.”
The Economist highlights a study by MIT researchers that shows climate change could cause the flow of the Nile River to become more variable, increasing strain on regional water conflicts. The researchers found that while output could increase by up to 15%, variability would also increase, resulting in, “more (and worse) floods and droughts.”
MIT researchers have found that by 2050 climate change could deplete water basins and reduce crop yields, reports The Boston Globe’s Alyssa Meyers. If no action is taken to combat climate change, “numerous basins used to irrigate crops across the country will either start to experience shortages or see existing shortages ‘severely accentuated.’”
In an article for Scientific American, Kavya Balaraman writes that MIT researchers have found that climate change could impact rainfall conditions over the Nile, potentially exacerbating water conflicts. Prof. Elfatih Eltahir explains that with the increased frequency of El Niño and La Niña, “we are projecting enhanced variability in the Nile flow.”
Guardian reporter Mark Harris writes about research scientist Caleb Harper’s work developing sensor-controlled systems that could allow farmers to grow food in varying conditions around the world. Harper has also developed a system to share data on optimal growing conditions in the hopes of providing “access to biology in the same way that HTML gave us access to the internet.”
In this Atlantic video, Caleb Harper, a research scientist at the Media Lab, speaks about how farming will change as more people begin moving to cities. Harper explains that if individuals are enabled to grow fresh food, “then countries that import a lot of their own foods now can start to build up a capacity within their border.”
MIT scientists have developed a device that can evaluate the ripeness of an apple by measuring the glow of chlorophyll in the fruit’s skin, writes Jesse Emspak for CBS News. “Such a gadget could make a big difference for apple distributors, who sometimes have to guess when deciding where to send their stock,” explains Emspak.
MIT researchers have developed a handheld sensor that can determine the ripeness of a piece of fruit, reports Deborah Netburn for The Los Angeles Times. The new device could “help farmers determine the optimal time to harvest fruit, or help them rapidly sort apples in storage facilities based on their ripeness.”
In an article for Scientific American, Layla Eplett writes about Prof. Heather Paxson’s book on American artisanal cheese culture. Eplett writes that after observing the increasing number of artisanal cheese shops, Paxson was inspired to visit "artisanal cheesemakers throughout the US who revealed diverse backgrounds and motivations for learning the craft.”