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Three times faster than the world average, temperatures are rising in the eastern Mediterranean, and the effects of climate change are already making their presence felt in Greece. mainly in Crete and the eastern Peloponnesesaid the climpact network’s scientific director, Professor Nikos Michalopoulos at the National Observatory in Athens.
Sounding the alarm for the primary sector, he himself, speaking in the online dialogue forum, on the topic: “Mitigation of the effects and adaptation of Greek agriculture to climate change” expressed his position, saying characteristically: “I’m afraid we will have to go to crop restructuring in the next few years.”
«The Eastern Mediterranean and the Arctic Circle are two of the most important climate hotspots in the world in terms of the impact of climate change.“, He is stressed.
Mr. Michalopoulos noted that due to the particularly high temperatures, we expect a reduction in yield.Due to the increase in the frequency of extreme weather events, more frequent crop disasters and due to the decrease in water availability due to prolonged droughts, it will translate into a higher demand for irrigation water. He added that the increase in temperature and humidity in the air will result in the proliferation of pest and weed diseases that affect the yield of crops in a qualitative and quantitative way.
“We expect an increase during the growing season due to increased temperatures, pressure on water resources in areas with greater vulnerability, reduced soil organic matter and increased risk of damage, salinization and degradation of agricultural soils and increased risk of loss of agricultural land, “he said.
As proof of the importance of agriculture, he said that rural lands in the EU cover 40% of its surface, while industries and services related to agriculture and food provide more than 44 million jobs. In Greece, the agricultural sector produced 4% of GDP and, together with tourism, are considered sectors that can contribute to the development of the national economy.
For the Climpact network, which currently consists of 11 organizations, he stressed that its mission is to use the significant amount of infrastructure, which will be strengthened in the future, to obtain more precise results and a better quantification of climate change and its effects. Its objectives are the optimization of existing climate services with early warning systems, the use of new results and research methodologies, for the production of original and innovative climate services, the creation of an open national database and the management and dissemination timely and valid information to are in charge of decision-making, but also of policy formulation.
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