--- title: Drought and Extreme Heat Are Killing the World's Crops description: Drought and extreme heat hurt production of key crops during the 20th century and will likely pose a problem in the coming decades canonical: https://time.com/4170029/crop-production-extreme-heat-climate-change/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-06T21:41:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T13:50:21.817Z article:section: Science og:title: How Drought and Extreme Heat Are Killing the World's Crops og:description: Developed countries were hardest hit og:url: https://time.com/4170029/crop-production-extreme-heat-climate-change/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte39dec8ad9fd1c3c/698877e7a988caa1b16b5fc4/corn-production-climate-change-crops.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: corn climate change crop production og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Drought and Extreme Heat Are Killing the World's Crops twitter:description: Developed countries were hardest hit twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte39dec8ad9fd1c3c/698877e7a988caa1b16b5fc4/corn-production-climate-change-crops.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Drought and Extreme Heat Are Killing the World's Crops > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jan 6, 2016 9:41 PM UTC  Non-GMO corn is harvested with a John Deere & Co. 9670 STS combine harvester in Malden, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015\. Corn exports by the U.S., the biggest producer, are running 28 percent behind last year's pace as a stronger dollar entices buyers to go elsewhere for cheaper supply. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images Non-GMO corn is harvested with a John Deere & Co. 9670 STS combine harvester in Malden, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015\. Corn exports by the U.S., the biggest producer, are running 28 percent behind last year's pace as a stronger dollar entices buyers to go elsewhere for cheaper supply. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesDaniel Acker —Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jan 6, 2016 9:41 PM UTC Drought and extreme heat dramatically reduced production of key crops during the second half of the 20th century and will likely pose an increasingly dramatic problem in the coming decades, according to new research. Researchers for the [study](http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nature16467), published in the journal _Nature_, found that drought and extreme heat reduced crop yields by as much as 10% between 1964 and 2007\. Extreme cold and floods did not result in a significant reduction in crop production, according to the study. The research provides key insight on the effects of climate on agriculture as policymakers prepare for the number of extreme weather events to spike in the coming decades due to global warming. The study, which evaluated the effect of 2,800 weather disasters on cereal crops like corn, rice and wheat, suggests that the effects of drought worsened after 1985 and are expected to continue to deteriorate in the coming decades. The study speculates that’s because of more intense droughts driven by climate change, increased vulnerability to drought and changed reporting methods, but couldn’t confirm any individual factor with certainty. **Read More:** H[ow Climate Change Became the Central Development Issue](http://time.com/4137733/climate-change-development/) Developed countries experienced some of the most severe crop loss due to drought and heat, according to the research. Crop production in North America, Europe and Australia faced nearly a 20% decline thanks to drought and extreme heat, compared to less than 10% in Africa and Latin America. Researchers attributed the disparity to a difference between the agricultural methods employed in the different areas. Farmers in developed countries tend to grow crops uniformly across large areas. Drought affects those crops uniformly. Growing a wide variety of crops in a given region in the developing world mitigates the risk that all crops will be wiped out thanks to a given weather event. **Read More**: [Why Climate Change Could Hurt Power Production](http://time.com/4167370/climate-change-power-production/) The impact of drought and extreme heat on food production has been a hot button topic in development circles as the scientific understanding of climate change has grown. One recent [study](http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/8/085010) found that climate change could drive a 11% decrease in crop yields and a 20% increase in price by 2050 if countries do not stem their greenhouse gas emissions. And while developed countries have the resources to adapt, their poor counterparts are often left hard hit when they cannot produce adequate food during extreme weather events. This year’s El Niño, for instance, has left millions in need of food assistance in places like Ethiopia where the majority of the population depends on agriculture to make ends meet. Funding for efforts to adapt to climate change, including by preparing farmers, has been a key focus of groups focused on the issue. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4170029/crop-production-extreme-heat-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4170029/crop-production-extreme-heat-climate-change/"},"headline":"How Drought and Extreme Heat Are Killing the World's Crops","datePublished":"2016-01-06T21:41:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:50:21.817Z","description":"Developed countries were hardest hit","url":"https://time.com/4170029/crop-production-extreme-heat-climate-change/","keywords":["climate change"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte39dec8ad9fd1c3c/698877e7a988caa1b16b5fc4/corn-production-climate-change-crops.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte39dec8ad9fd1c3c/698877e7a988caa1b16b5fc4/corn-production-climate-change-crops.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"corn climate change crop production","caption":"corn climate change crop production","creditText":"Daniel Acker —Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4170029/crop-production-extreme-heat-climate-change/","name":"How Drought and Extreme Heat Are Killing the World's Crops"}}]}] ```