Working at The Conversation provides a useful insight into the timescales of global events. It can take months for their consequences to be felt around the world, and you can sometimes see things unfolding as academics predicted.
Earlier this year, experts were concerned that blocking the Strait of Hormuz would disrupt energy and fertiliser supplies. This summer, we covered Europe’s drought and heatwaves in depth, and looked at what it meant for farmers. The academic experts who wrote those articles consistently warned that the biggest international impacts were still to come.
This winter, it’s pay-off time. Sophie Perry and Leila Fathi, of City St George’s, University of London, say the global food system will be hit hard by the combined factors of conflict and climate. They highlight five everyday foods they expect to get (even) more expensive this winter – and why.
The war in Ukraine is one of those conflicts helping to make food more expensive. Doug Specht and Rob Sharp of the Universities of Westminster and Sussex have researched the country’s efforts to rebuild amid constant Russian attacks. They worry that a digital divide means small towns and villages are being sidelined in favour of bigger, more tech-savvy cities.
Meanwhile, a severe measles outbreak in Bangladesh has claimed around 900 lives, mostly children. It follows a big drop in vaccination rates.
