Climate Change And Wildfires Forced Earlier Currants Harvest In August 2021
It only seems like yesterday when the United States decided to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. In an unprecedented move, former US President Donald Trump cited that climate change was not a priority for his government. He even resorted to denying any involvement of his own nation- among others- in the acceleration of extreme climatic conditions.
In the years following this declaration, anti-climate change movements have sprouted all around the world, declaring years of scientific research null and void. Climate change has become a geopolitical issue when it should have been strictly environmental.
However, whether you believe in it or not, there is no denying that something is happening.
Europe Is Changing
The effects of climate change have never been more obvious. In the past years, Europe has succumbed to various heatwaves, each one worse than its predecessor. The situation gets deadlier by the year and people seem trapped in it.
This is not something Europe is equipped with handling.
But as the winters get harsher (or not, depending on where you live) and the summers warmer, there is no doubt there is a change coming. A change that may shake the very foundations of the continent's history.
While some may say that change has usually given way to better periods of European history, this climatic change leaves much to desire.
The New “Hot Spot” Of Europe
At the center of this shift is the Greek capital, Athens. As the "hottest" new capital of Europe, it rose to 111 degrees Fahrenheit over the summer of 2021, causing wildfires to erupt within the city itself.
While the heatwave itself has been record-breaking, the wildfire added more land to the already burning 200,000 acres of forests across Greece.
It is a very critical situation for Greece, but it is not the only country suffering. Wildfires have erupted throughout Europe as most of the continent finds itself unequipped with managing such high temperatures.
The Italian Island of Sicily suffers a similar fate, having recorded some of the hottest temperatures in history with fires breaking out across Southern Italy. It's a bad situation. But in the face of climate change, even the most developed countries in the region are helpless.
This summer, in particular, has been dubbed as Europe's "summer of natural disasters." While most of Southern Europe suffers from heatwaves and wildfires, countries like Germany and Belgium suffer from catastrophic floods.
Climate Change Is Already Affecting Currant Crops
The truth about climate change has been known by governments and civilians for a very long time. Scientists have been pointing out and predicting this outcome for quite some time.
However, the debate persists even when half of Europe is burning. But the problem has just begun. Heatwaves can cause the destruction of crops, which have major consequences in the future.
For instance, the heatwave in Europe affected the production of currant crops. Farmers ended up harvesting currants earlier than expected. They feared that the ridiculously high temperatures could ruin the currants' quality, so they decided to harvest them earlier.
Of course, this meant that the crops couldn't fully grow as they normally are, so quality control authorities ended up rejecting most of them. What's worse, this means that there was a lower yield of currant crops than expected which might lead to a shortage.
While this directly shows how these natural disasters could affect our crop production, there is no need to worry about a global shortage in currants just yet. Despite what's happened over the summers, there is hope for currant crops.
There have been reports from mountainous regions about a better yield in the August harvest. Since these crops aren’t affected by the heatwaves, it is expected that their quality will be much, much better than the previous ones. However, it does signal a lesser than predicted quantity of currants this season.
