Percentage of U.S. Land Covered in Drought As Bad As Dust Bowl
… But Severe Drought – and Dust Storms – Not As Bad
Families face punishing food price rises triggered by a catastrophic U.S. drought, experts warned yesterday.
They said the American crisis is forcing up the global price of crops used to make staples such as bread and pasta.
Meat is also tipped to cost much more because animal feed costs have soared, again because of the drought.
Prices in UK supermarkets will rise because of a catastrophic U.S. drought, experts warned
The miserable summer in the UK has made the situation worse because even common vegetables such as potatoes and peas are having to be imported from as far away as South Africa, Guatemala and Israel.
British farmers say heavy rain and lack of sunshine has decimated or delayed harvests.
In the U.S., more than 35 states have declared disaster areas due to drought. Arable land covering an area larger than Belgium and Luxembourg combined has been abandoned.
A spokesman for the British Retail Consortium said: 'The drought is not yet having an impact but it will work through to meat prices because of the price of animal feed and ultimately to things such as bread and pasta.'
One Tory MP warned last night that high food prices were already having a severe impact on millions of families, with some parents forced to skip meals to feed their children.
Incomes are under huge pressure from inflation that has been above the official target for many months. Fuel bills are predicted to rise this winter with some suppliers already putting up their charges.
Families will be hit as the price of bread, pasta and meat rockets because of drought in the U.S.
The food price threat is a blow to George Osborne's election strategy, which focuses on bringing inflation under control. Tory high command believes it can win the economic battle with Labour in 2015, despite the double dip recession.
But party strategists warn it is essential to get real incomes rising again.
'We need to get inflation under control so that people start to feel a bit better off again,' said a source.
'We can make the case that the deficit is unfinished business, but without some sort of feelgood factor we are in trouble.'
PARENTS ARE GOING HUNGRY TO FEED THEIR CHILDREN, MP SAYS
Soaring food prices are forcing many parents to go hungry in order to feed their children, a Tory MP warned last night.
Laura Sandys, MP for South Thanet, warned the era of cheap food could be drawing to a close, with potentially serious consequences for many families.
Miss Sandys, whose Kent constituency contains pockets of severe deprivation, said: 'We've got to understand that this is really impacting families, certainly in my constituency, who have got the lowest incomes and these families are actually making choices that are undermining their family's nutritional intake.
'Sometimes parents are skipping meals regularly just to feed their children.'
Speaking on BBC Radio Four's World at One programme, Miss Sandys said Britain needed to 'change our attitude and possibly some of our policies in relation to food'.
She said supermarkets should be encouraged to stock cheaper 'ugly fruit and vegetables' to make healthy food more affordable.
And she suggested ministers should encourage the big retailers to do more to help the poorest customers eat healthily.
'Public health information must also incorporate cost – the cost to the family,' she added.
The BRC says food price rises have slowed to 3.1 per cent over the past year compared with a high of 10 per cent in 2008.
Stephen Robertson, the consortium's director general, has warned 'the relief may not last' because the poor US harvests are 'creating a build-up of inflationary pressure'.
He pencilled in poultry and eggs for further hikes.
Around two thirds of American farmland is in mild or extreme drought, according to the BRC. Corn production has been especially badly hit in a country that is responsible for nearly half of the world's exports of the staple.
Yesterday the price of soya beans – another key U.S. export – hit an all-time high.
Soya beans and corn can be made into oil and animal feed, as well as fuel ethanol, but they are also found in snack products, fast food and soft drinks.
The drought has led to calls for the G20 group of leading industrialised economies to hold an emergency meeting to tackle the world food supply problem.
Jose Graziano Da Silva, who is the director general of the UN's food and agriculture organisation, said yesterday: 'We need co-ordinated action and I believe that the G20 is responsible enough for this action.'
The threatened price rises will hit families struggling to survive the worst recession for decades.
According to analysts at Incomes Data Services, private sector workers are getting average pay rises of 2.5 per cent – below the 2.6 per cent level of inflation.
Millions have been hit by at least one pay freeze since the downturn began in 2008 and others have been made redundant or lost out on over-time or extra shifts. The Office for National Statistics puts annual food price inflation at 2.4 per cent but with beef costing 10.5 per cent more than a year ago.
The third price surge in four years has come after the drought in the US and poor crops from Russia and the Black Sea region.
Senior figures from the G20 will discuss the food price rises this week, but any decisions on action are unlikely before a mid-September report on grain supply, officials have said.
Mr Da Silva said he would not characterise the situation as a crisis, but it could reach that level next year if harvests in the southern hemisphere disappointed.
He said that even if wheat prices rose 10 to 20 per cent that did not mean bread prices would rise by the same amount.
The progress of the drought has been horrific:
The current drought is covering almost as much of the U.S. as during the 1930s dust bowl:
As the Weather Channel pointed out last month, the area covered by drought rivals some of the dust bowl years:
As of June – the area covered by severe drought was still lower than during the Dust Bowl years, but still made the top 10 list:
But – despite the recent rains in some areas, which reduced by 1% the area covered by drought – the farm states remain parched, and the area covered by severe drought is still growing.
Much of the area hit during the Dust Bowl – and again today – is naturally prone to drought. As the Weather Channel notes:
The area is known as semi-arid and is naturally prone to drought and high winds. In fact, early settlers referred to it as the “Great American Desert.”
Interestingly, HowStuffWorks notes:
About 90 percent of the 450 million hectares of arid land in North America suffers from moderate to severe desertification [source: Center for International Earth Science Information Network]
July was the warmest month recorded in the U.S. since records began in 1895. And AP reports:
The first seven months of 2012 were the warmest on record for the nation. And August 2011 through July this year was the warmest 12-month period on record, just beating out the July 2011-June 2012 time period.
Unfortunately, the one certainty is higher food prices.
Postscript: Predictably, some say this proves global warming is a dire threat, and others say that it is dishonest to claim that short-term
The world may have to become almost entirely vegetarian, leading scientists have warned.
They claim that spiralling populations mean the will simply not be enough meat for people within decades.
They believe animal based will have drop to just 5 per centof our total calories.
Researchers believe the world's population explosion means the majority of people will have to turn vegetarian by 2050
'There will not be enough water available on current croplands to produce food for the expected 9 billion population in 2050 if we follow current trends and changes towards diets common in western nations,' the report by Malik Falkenmark and colleagues at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) said.
It is believed that if current population growth continues, there could be an additional 2 billion people alive by 2050.
The report, called Feeding a thirsty world: Challenges and opportunities for a water and food secure world, is being released at the start of the annual world water conference in Stockholm.
There, 2,500 politicians, UN bodies, non-governmental groups and researchers from 120 countries are meeting to address global water supply problems.
The report says dramatic cuts in our meat consumption are the only answer.
'There will be just enough water if the proportion of animal-based foods is limited to 5% of total calories and considerable regional water deficits can be met by a reliable system of food trade,' it states.
Researchers say vegetarian lifestyle will be needed to cope with soaring populations around the world
Humans currently get about 20 per cent of their protein from animal-based products.
'We will need a new recipe to feed the world in the future,' said the report's editor, Anders Jägerskog
A UN report released in June likewise emphasized that meat production consumes the lion-share of the world’s fresh water supply, 38 per cent of the world’s habitable land and contributes to 19 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The United Nations found vegan and vegetarian diets to be the least taxing on the world’s shrinking resources.
weather proves anything: the awesome power of mother nature across America
The biggest dust storm in living memory rolls into Phoenix on July 5, 2011, reducing visibility to zero. Desert thunderstorms kicked up the mile-high wall of dust and sand. Photograph by Daniel Bryant
The tempest of historic proportions rolled through the city as residents scrambled for cover and thousands were left without power in the scorching desert heat.
Severe droughts in the Lone Star State were described as 'gut-kicking even by Texas standards’ and photographer Robb Kendrick depicted the devastation of the rainless region in his spectacular collection of images.
Dubbed the ‘New Dust Bowl,’ the epic dry spell was judged to be even more severe than the extreme drought of the 1950s, with Texas farmers losing an estimated $8 billion due to the lack of rain in 2011.
Gusting winds fling dirt from barren cotton fields onto Farm to Market Road 303, near a small community called Pep. Parts of West Texas saw next to no rainfall in 2011. Photograph by Robb Kendrick
Fortified by a levee, a house near Vicksburg survives a Yazoo River flood in May 2011. Snowmelt and intense rains, eight times as much rainfall as usual in parts of the Mississippi River watershed, triggered floods that caused three to four billion dollars in damages. Photograph by Scott Olson
But the wild weather conditions were not limited to dust storms and droughts.
In May 2011, melting snow and rainfall eight times the normal level caused the Mississippi River to break its banks, devastating the area and resulting in an estimated $4 billion of damage to local homes and businesses.
Photographer Scott Olson was there, capturing awe-inspiring images of the deluge from above.
For a separate National Geographic photo spread, titled 'Chasing Lightning', photographer Carsten Peter followed storm tracker Tim Samaras as he tempted fate to get as close as possible to powerful lightening bolts around the U.S.
As he waits for a wave of thunderstorms to form along Colorado's Front Range, Samaras readies the 1,600-pound camera he calls the Kahuna. Photograph by Carsten Peter
Back on the highway with the Kahuna in tow, Samaras hunts for the elusive shot. This summer he's on the chase again, with new, nimbler equipment. Photograph by Carsten Peter
Weather Gone Wild
Rains that are almost biblical, heat waves that don't end, tornadoes that strike in savage swarms—there's been a change in the weather lately. What's going on?
Aug 28, 2012 |
This summer, the United States has experienced its worst drought in more than half a century. The Mississippi River is approaching record lows, as far as 20 feet below normal. Throughout the Midwest, meager corn harvests began on the some of the earliest dates ever recorded. Corn and soybean farms are producing far smaller yields this year, which will affect livestock production and impact food prices worldwide -- especially in developing nations, where even a small rise in the cost of grains can be devastating. Collected below are images of a very dry and dusty Midwest, where residents hope that remnants of Hurricane Isaac might bring at least a little relief.
Rancher Gary Wollert pauses before heading out for work near Eads, on the plains of eastern Colorado, on August 23, 2012. The nation's severe drought has been especially hard on cattlemen, made worse when Congress recessed for 5 weeks without passing disaster relief legislation. Most of the high plains areas of eastern Colorado and virtually all of Nebraska and Kansas are still in extreme or exceptional drought, despite recent lower temperatures. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Darren Becker sifts through arid topsoil under a ruined crop on the family farm in Logan, Kansas, on August 24, 2012. Like many Kansas farmers whose profits have been wiped out by the record drought, the Beckers are working hard to hang on to their farm, which has been in their family for five generations. (John Moore/Getty Images) #
Severely damaged corn stalks due to a widespread drought, at sunset on a farm near Oakland City, Indiana, on August 15, 2012. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images) #
Tony Frost of Frost Farms (not pictured) tops off a stock tank with water for his cattle in Tallula, Illinois, on August 3, 2012. After months of drought, the central Illinois creeks and ponds that the 300 Frost Farms cows drink from are dry or close to it. Frost has to buy and haul water, about 4,000 gallons a day, split up in four trips to different pastures. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman) #
A combine harvests corn in a field near Coy, Arkansas, on August 16, 2012. Federal weather forecasters say drought conditions appear to be leveling off, although it is likely to continue at least through November. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston) #
Pieces of mulched corn stalks fly through the air as a crop cutter mows down the remnants of a drought-ravaged crop to sell as livestock feed in Wiley, Colorado, on August 22, 2012. (John Moore/Getty Images) #
Farmer Jay Sneller unloads mulched corn at a feedlot operated by JBS Five Rivers Colorado Beef in Wiley, Colorado, on August 22, 2012. The severe drought dried up most of eastern Colorado's farmland, forcing many farmers to cut their crops early to sell as feed and recoup some of their losses. (John Moore/Getty Images) #
A storm approaches the drought-affected Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Hudson, Kansas, on August 7, 2012. (Reuters/Jeff Tuttle) #
Firefighters battle a wildfire near the town of Noble in Cleveland County, south of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on August 4, 2012. Wildfires burned out of control in Oklahoma, destroying homes and shutting down highways in a state that suffered 18 straight days of 100-plus degree temperatures and persistent drought. (Reuters/Garett Fisbeck) #
A sugar maple tree shows signs of scorching at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois, on August 2, 2012. Many of the garden's 2.5 million plants have required extra watering during the summer's triple-digit heat. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) #
A gust of wind picks up dust in the remains of a poor harvest of soybeans. Wrapped plastic, the bales of soybeans will help ranchers feed their cows during the lean months that may come if there is no rain. (Photo/ Julie Denesha For The Washington Post) #
Vacationers seek refuge from the heat on a sand bar along the Platte River near the Louisville state recreation area in Nebraska, on July 17, 2012. Low water flow due to lack of precipitation has exposed large areas of the river bed. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) #
Boats sit near a dock on the dry, grass-covered bottom of Morse Reservoir in Noblesville, Indiana, on August 1, 2012. The reservoir is six feet below normal levels. More than half of U.S. counties now are classified by the federal government as natural disaster areas mostly because of the drought. The U.S. Agriculture Department on Wednesday added 218 counties in a dozen states as disaster areas. That brings this year's total to 1,584 in 32 states, more than 90 percent of them because of the drought. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) #
Rancher Gary Wollert inspects a dead cow on dry grasslands near Eads, Colorado, on August 22, 2012. Many cattle in the area have contracted respiratory infections due to the wide temperature swings in this summer's heatwave and drought. While most cases have been cured, some have been fatal. (John Moore/Getty Images) #
Dry stalks of corn, ravaged by drought, stand in a failed corn field near Colby, Kansas, on August 24, 2012. Most of Kansas is still in extreme or exceptional drought, despite recent lower temperatures and scattered thunderstorms, according to the University of Nebraska's Drought Monitor. (John Moore/Getty Images) #
A dead carp lies in one of many dried up pools at Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area, in Great Bend, Kansas, on August 7, 2012. (Reuters/Jeff Tuttle) #
A cow walks near a dried-up pond in a drought-ravaged pasture near Eads, Colorado, on August 22, 2012. The severe drought has dried up most of eastern Colorado's natural grassland, forcing many ranchers to sell off much of their livestock early to feedlots, which fatten up the cattle for slaughter. (John Moore/Getty Images) #
Farmer Jay Sneller displays an ear from a drought-ravaged corn crop in Wiley, Colorado, on August 22, 2012. (John Moore/Getty Images) #
The shoreline of the Arkansas banks of the Mississippi River near Greenville, Mississippi, are exposed and give witness to the extent of the drought, on August 21, 2012. Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers say low water levels that are restricting shipping traffic, forcing harbor closures and causing towboats and barges to run aground on the Mississippi River are expected to continue into October. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) #
As drought continued to parch much of the United States in August 2012, the Mississippi River approached historically low water levels in several portions of its middle and southern reaches. As of August 20, a towboat and its barges had run aground in the main river channel, forcing its closure near Greenville, Mississippi. The grounding backed up shipping traffic and left close to 100 vessels waiting for the channel to re-open and allow passage up and down the river. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured this view of the Mississippi River near Greenville on August 20, 2012. For scale, the barges and towboats are strung together into chains that can be up to 1,000 feet (300 meters) long and 100 feet (30 meters) wide. Many towboats and barges were tied up along the shores, waiting for clearance to move north or south. Towboats must continually idle their engines while waiting, at a cost of nearly $10,000 per day according to Time magazine. (NASA Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Mike Carlowicz, and Rick Robertson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) #
An old car, exposed by record low water levels, is pulled from a Mississippi River bank at LeTourneau Landing in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on August 16, 2012. Local fishermen reported to authorities seeing the car Wednesday at a spot frequented by many area fishermen. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) #
A spray of sand laced water shoots out from the Dredge Jadwin, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers vessel that is clearing out some of the silt and left over mud and debris from last year's record flood on the Mississippi River and cutting a deeper channel for barges and their towboats to navigate north of Greenville, Mississippi, on August 22, 2012. Coast Guard Capt. William Drelling said Wednesday that authorities would inspect the channel near Greenville, then reset navigation buoys allowing barge traffic to resume on a limited basis as both federal agencies deal with the continued drought that has lowered the river. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) #
A much needed storm system rolls over starved corn fields in Elburn, Illinois, on July 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Robert Ray) #
Josh Cussimanio, a wildlife biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, walks on parched earth as he monitors the water levels in the Ducks Unlimited Presidents' Marsh at Four Rivers Conservation Area. During the worst drought in three decades, much of the water in the wetland has been reduced and habitat for waterfowl has decreased. (Photo/ Julie Denesha For The Washington Post) #
A couple canoe on Mark Twain Lake during sunset in Missouri on July 13, 2012. (Reuters/Adrees Latif) #
Joseph Perazzo, owner of Grass is Greener Lawn Painting, works on a lawn in Irvington, New Jersey, on July 25, 2012. With drought spanning about two-thirds of the nation from California to New York, some residents and businesses in normally well-watered areas are taking a page from the lawn-painting practices employed for years in the West and South to give luster to faded turf. (AP Photo/Grass is Greener Lawn Painting) #
Drought-stricken cotton plants near Pocasset, Oklahoma, on August 22, 2012. The current U.S. Drought Monitor shows 90 percent of Oklahoma in extreme or exceptional drought, the two worst categories. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) #
A yellowing field of corn, near Blair, Nebraska, on August 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) #
A firefighter sprays water during a burn operation in Boise National Forest near the community of Featherville, Idaho, on August 22, 2012. The Idaho fire was one of dozens burning across 10 parched western states, with Nevada, Idaho, and California each seeing hundreds of thousands of acres charred. (Reuters/Kari Greer/U.S. Forest Service) #
Water from an irrigation system sprays flowering cotton plants on the farm of Allen Entz in Hydro, Oklahoma, on August 16, 2012. Even with the irrigation system to help with the drought, the high temperatures in the area have affected the crop, as it can take 35-40 hours for the center pivot irrigation system to make it back to irrigate any particular plant. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) #
Cattle graze at sunset on drought-ravaged grassland near Wiley, on the plains of eastern Colorado, on August 22, 2012. (John Moore/Getty Images) #
A boat dock now rests in mud at Morse Reservoir as water levels drop due to the current drought near Cicero, Indiana, on July 19, 2012. State officials declared most of the state a natural disaster area. (Reuters/Chris Bergin) #
Darren Becker and his son Charlie, 19, stand in a drought-parched pond on the family farm in Logan, Kansas, on August 24, 2012. (John Moore/Getty Images) #
Steve Connole fishes in the Missouri River in Helena, Montana, on August 1, 2012. More anglers are fishing on larger rivers and earlier in the day as heat and drought lead to restrictions on several small streams in Montana and in Yellowstone National Park. (AP Photo/Matt Volz) #
A message on a restaurant sign in Burlington, eastern Colorado, on August 23, 2012. The ongoing drought has devastated the area's agricultural economy, but also affected a broad spectrum of businesses across the plains. (John Moore/Getty Images) #
Three generations of Becker farmers - Loyd, 86, Charlie, 19, and Darren, 47 stand in a drought-parched field on the Becker farm in Logan, Kansas, on August 24, 2012. Like many Kansas farmers affected by the record drought, the Beckers are working hard to hang on to their farm, which has been in their family for five generations. The record-breaking drought, which has affected more than half of the continental United States, is expected to drive up food prices by 2013 due to lower crop harvests and the adverse effect on the nation's cattle industry. (John Moore/Getty Images)
 The worst drought in the Horn of Africa has sparked a severe food crisis and high malnutrition rates, with parts of Kenya and Somalia experiencing pre-famine conditions, the United Nations has said. More than 10 million people are now affected in drought-stricken areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda and the situation is deteriorating. Faduma Sakow Abdullahiand her five children tried to escape starvation in Somalia by journeying to a Kenyan refugee camp. Only one day before they reached their destination, her 4-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son died of exhaustion and hunger. At first the 29-year-old widow thought the two were merely sleeping when they wouldn’t get up after a brief rest. She had to leave their bodies under a tree, unburied, so she could push on with her baby, 2-year-old and 3-year-old. She saw more than 20 other children dead or unconscious abandoned on the roadside. Eventually a passing car rescued the rest of her family from what could have been death.  |   |
| The future of wheat – in many ways the future of food – was the subject of an emergency meeting of agricultural officials who flew to Rome from around the world, concerned over skyrocketing prices. Since July, when traders saw a historic heat wave devastating Russia’s crop, prices on the world’s wheat exchanges have shot up 50 percent. Corn and other grains rose in lockstep. Feeding the world, 9 billion people by 2050, will mean boosting food output globally by 70 percent over 40 years, the FAO says. But wheat, the biggest source of protein in poorer countries, is falling behind: As global population grows 1.5 percent a year, the growth in wheat yields – the amount of grain produced per hectare – has slipped below 1 percent a year. In the U.S., yields generally peaked in the 1990s. In the volcanic valleys of central Mexico, on the Canadian prairie, across India’s northern plain, they sow and they reap the golden grain that has fed us since the distant dawn of farming. But along with the wheat these days comes a harvest of worry. Yields aren’t keeping up with a world growing hungrier. Crops are stunted in a world grown warmer. A devastating fungus, a wheat “rust,” is spreading out of Africa, a grave threat to the food plant that covers more of the planet’s surface than any other. Tackling diminishing returns in food productionThe world’s population is set to go on rising – at least to 2050. And as population rises, so will the demand for food. But here we come up against a potentially catastrophic illustration of the law of diminishing returns. Population is set to grow, but the world supply of land is pretty well fixed. And with global warming, some land may become unusable. According to Sir John Beddington, an expert in population biology and lead author of a government-commissioned report, The Future of Food and Farming, there could be serious consequences of this population rise, including rapid rises in the demand for food, rising food prices, rising land prices, the degradation of land, growing food poverty in many developing countries, growing political unrest and serious environmental damage. As the report’s Executive Summary states:
The report specifically looks at five key challenges for the future:
So what can be done and how realistic are the policy solutions? The following broadcasts and articles examine the arguments Across Africa and the developing world, a new global land rush is gobbling up large expanses of arable land. Despite their ageless traditions, stunned villagers are discovering that African governments typically own their land and have been leasing it, often at bargain prices, to private investors and foreign governments for decades to come. The half-dozen strangers who descended on this remote West African village brought its hand-to-mouth farmers alarming news: Their humble fields, tilled from one generation to the next, were now controlled by Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Gadhafi, and the farmers would all have to leave. “They told us this would be the last rainy season for us to cultivate our fields; after that, they will level all the houses and take the land,” said Mama Keita, 73, the leader of this village veiled behind dense, thorny scrubland. “We were told that Gadhafi owns this land.” Organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank say the practice, if done equitably, could help feed the growing global population by introducing large-scale commercial farming to places without it. But others condemn the deals as neocolonial land grabs that destroy villages, uproot tens of thousands of farmers and create a volatile mass of landless poor. Making matters worse, they contend, much of the food is bound for wealthier nations.  |     |
A Pakistani farmer sorts the wheat during the harvest in Muzaffargarh in Punjab province, Pakistan. The future of wheat - in many ways the future of food - was the subject of an emergency meeting of agricultural officials who flew to Rome from around the world, concerned over skyrocketing prices. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) #
A new report says Europe's growing demand for biofuels increases the risk of conflict over land and impairs food security. The authors even warn of a potential global crisis.
The report, compiled by international environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth (FoE), says that the amount of land being taken in Africa to feed Europe's increasing demand for biofuels is "underestimated and out of control." An area of arable land the size of Denmark – around five million hectares – has been acquired by foreign companies to produce biofuels, mainly for the European market, the report says.
The FoE warns that even more land will be required for biofuels if the European Union is to reach its target of 10 percent of transport fuels from renewable sources by 2020.
Africans have protested unfair land deals
"Our research shows that Europe's demand for biofuels is a major driver of land grabbing in Africa," Adrian Bebb, food and agriculture campaigner for FoE Europe, told Deutsche Welle. "Local communities are facing increasing hunger and food insecurity just so Europe can fuel its cars."
The pressure on local communities, regional and national governments in the 11 African nations investigated in the report's research could lead to internal conflicts and potentially spread across borders as arable land, forests and natural vegetation are cleared for biofuel production.
See the Report: Africa Up For Grabs click here
Internal African unrest building over land rights
According to a controversial leaked World Bank report on land grabs – which it has so far refused to release publicly – local communities are being bypassed in consultations between land-acquiring companies and African governments, a situation which has already led to conflicts over land rights. The report, cited by FoE, claims that there have been protests in Tanzania, Madagascar and Ghana following land grabs by foreign companies.
Food shortages could lead to rioting, experts fear
"The expansion of biofuels on our continent is transforming forests and natural vegetation into fuel crops, taking away food-growing farmland from communities, and creating conflicts with local people over land ownership," said Mariann Bassey, food and agriculture coordinator for Environmental Rights Action/FoE Nigeria.
"The aim of the investments taking place at the moment is to satisfy the food or agrofuel needs of foreign governments; some Gulf States, Asian countries and also EU-countries, and in the case of private companies, the hope for lucrative gains by speculating with land or trading agricultural goods," Alexa Emundts from MISEREOR, a German development organization affiliated with the International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity Alliance, told Deutsche Welle.
"Most of the investments are done by a broad range of private companies, but there are also joint ventures with governments or purely government-lead investments from a number of Gulf States, China, India and others."
The large scale investments in African land carry "a high risk for the local population's food security," Edmundts added...
...Food shortages and conflicts a possible consequence
With increasing demand for biofuel production reducing areas of arable land around the world, experts fear that the ultimate impact on food security will be global rather than local. Food shortages bring their own threat of instability and unrest. Resources and commodities used in food production will become increasingly sought after, and regions providing these will become more important and protected.
"When the food prices spiked in 2008-2009, we saw serious riots and the governments of Haiti and Madagascar fell," said FoE's Adrian Bebb. "Over the coming years we will see an increase in competition for land and natural resources, especially to meet the demand for biofuels ... Biofuels also need a lot of water and this could be a sticking point between nations."...
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See also
A woman prepares chapati, a traditional bread made with wheat flour, by the fireside as her son eats a meal at their home in Allahabad, India. Agronomists say rising temperatures from global warming are reducing India's wheat crop. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh) #
A man cooks roti, a traditional bread made with wheat flour, at a roadside stall in Mumbai, India. Future global wheat supplies are in question because of stagnating yields, the spread of a devastating wheat fungus, climate change and a volatile, unreliable market. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade) #
A Russian man shovels wheat at a farm in Vasyurinskoe. The US government cut its forecasts for global wheat production as Russia suffers its worst drought in decades. Russia has seen 10 million hectares (25 million acres), or a quarter of arable land destroyed in its worst drought on record. MIKHAIL MORDASOV/AFP/Getty Images #
A farmer plows a field to sew wheat in Baradero, Buenos Aires. The Russian decision of stop its wheat exports increased its price more than 70 percent per ton. DANIEL GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images #
A rice farmer looks over a newly cleared and irrigated area of land near a 24-mile-long canal built to benefit local villages, in the village of Beldenadji, Mali, Nov. 18, 2010. Across Africa and the developing world, a new global land rush is gobbling up large expanses of arable land and displacing villagers who are discovering that African governments own their land and have been leasing it to private investors and foreign governments for decades of future use. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #
Local children gather at a well in the village of Soumouni, Mali, Nov. 21, 2010. Across Africa and the developing world, a new global land rush is gobbling up large expanses of arable land and displacing villagers who are discovering that African governments own their land and have been leasing it to private investors and foreign governments for decades of future use. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #
A man sets nets and woven traps to catch small fish near a 24-mile-long canal built to benefit local villages, in the the village of Beldenadji, Mali. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #
Villagers from a fishing community along the Niger River near Markala. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #
Sekou Traore in his fields where he grows millet, sorghum and beans in the village of Soumouni, Mali, Nov. 21, 2010. Traor is fearful of losing his house and land to a Libyan investment project. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #
Farmers and their families from all over central Mali gather to protest the government leasing larger and larger tracts of land to foreign companies and governments while displacing villagers, in Kolongo, Mali, Nov. 20, 2010. Across Africa and the developing world, a new global land rush is gobbling up large expanses of arable land and displacing villagers who are discovering that African governments own their land and have been leasing it to private investors and foreign governments for decades of future use. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #
Farmers and their families from all over central Mali gather to protest the government leasing larger and larger tracts of land to foreign companies and governments while displacing villagers. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #
Villagers from a fishing community along the Niger River near Markala, Mali. Across Africa and the developing world, a new global land rush is gobbling up large expanses of arable land and displacing villagers who are discovering that African governments own their land and have been leasing it to private investors and foreign governments for decades of future use. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #
A woman cooks near the Niger River in Matkala, Mali, Nov, 20. 2010. Across Africa and the developing world, a new global land rush is gobbling up large expanses of arable land and displacing villagers who are discovering that African governments own their land and have been leasing it to private investors and foreign governments for decades of future use. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #
A security guard stands watch over workers near a 24-mile-long canal built to benefit local villages, in the the village of Beldenadji, Mali, Nov. 18, 2010. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #
Senegalese workers make bread from "Niebe" black-eyed peas at the Food Technology Institute (ITA) in Dakar. The black-eyed pea, known also as the cowpea, has the potential to feed millions and to act as a substitute for wheat which is not grown here or in many countries in the region. SEYLLOU/AFP/Getty Images #
Senegalese women sort "Niebe" black-eyed peas at a factory in Dakar. SEYLLOU/AFP/Getty Images #
A woman walks in wheat fields near Dong Van, Ha Giang, Vietnam. (Justin Mott/The New York Times) #
Residents tend crops near Dong Van, Ha Giang, Vietnam. (Justin Mott/The New York Times) #
North Korean villagers make their way along the fields at a village on the foothills of the Baekdu Mountains or known across the border as the Changbai Mountains as seen from northeast China's Jilin province. China, the North's economic lifeline and sole major ally, has pressed it to follow its example in freeing up the economy, but Kim Jong-il's regime appears so far to be fearful of relaxing its grip. OLLI GEIBEL/AFP/Getty Images #
An afghan farmer carries wheat in Herat province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. Feeding the world, 9 billion people by 2050, will mean boosting food output globally by 70 percent over 40 years, the FAO says. (AP Photo/Reza Shirmohammadi) #
Indian Hindu priests clean wheat inside a temple in Ayodhya. Wheat, the biggest source of protein in poorer countries, is falling behind. As global population grows 1.5 percent a year, the growth in wheat yields - the amount of grain produced per hectare - has slipped below 1 percent a year. DIPTENDU DUTTA/AFP/Getty Images #
A man works in a wheat field, in Paraguay, 270 km east of Asuncion. In the volcanic valleys of central Mexico, on the Canadian prairie, across India's northern plain, they sow and they reap the golden grain that has fed us since the distant dawn of farming. But along with the wheat these days comes a harvest of worry. Yields aren't keeping up with a world growing hungrier. Crops are stunted in a world grown warmer. A devastating fungus, a wheat "rust," is spreading out of Africa, a grave threat to the food plant that covers more of the planet's surface than any other. NORBERTO DUARTE/AFP/Getty Images #
As the sun sets, Monte McMillan cuts wheat with his combine, on his farmland near Moscow, Idaho, which is shown in the background. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) #
Matthew Reynolds, chief of wheat physiology at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, CIMMYT, holds a stalk of wheat at the center in Texcoco, Mexico. Scientists say future wheat supplies are in question because of stagnating yields, the spread of a devastating wheat fungus, the impact of global warming, and a volatile, unreliable market. To boost yields, Reynolds said, researchers may have to rely on genetic modification. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) #
Wheat is shown ready for harvest near Tioga, North Dakota. KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images #
Traders at the Chicago Board of Trade work in the wheat options pit. Wheat prices have risen sharply again in 2010. U.S. Senate investigators cited market speculators as a major cause for even sharper price rises in 2007-2008, when people worldwide rioted over rising bread prices. Future wheat supplies are in question because of stagnating yields, crop disease, climate change and the volatile market. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) #
People walk past barricades of burning tires in Maputo, Mozambique after police fired on stone-throwing crowds protesting rising bread prices. Thirteen people were killed in the violence, which observers feared might be a prelude to food-price riots like those that swept the world in 2008 when grain prices soared. Scientists say future wheat supplies are in question because of stagnating yields, the spread of a devastating wheat fungus, climate change and a volatile, unreliable market. (AP Photo/Nastasya Tay) #
An Afghan farmer prays after a day of harvesting wheat in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. In the central highlands wheat and potatoes are the main crops, this year many of the farmers said their potato crops were up about 20%. Most families grow enough to feed themselves for seven months of the year but still are dependent on a high carbo-diet of mostly bread and potatoes which leads to malnutrition. (Photo by Paula Bronstein /Getty Images) #
The worst drought in the Horn of Africa has sparked a severe food crisis and high malnutrition rates, with parts of Kenya and Somalia experiencing pre-famine conditions, the United Nations has said. More than 10 million people are now affected in drought-stricken areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda and the situation is deteriorating.
Faduma Sakow Abdullahiand her five children tried to escape starvation in Somalia by journeying to a Kenyan refugee camp. Only one day before they reached their destination, her 4-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son died of exhaustion and hunger. At first the 29-year-old widow thought the two were merely sleeping when they wouldn’t get up after a brief rest. She had to leave their bodies under a tree, unburied, so she could push on with her baby, 2-year-old and 3-year-old. She saw more than 20 other children dead or unconscious abandoned on the roadside. Eventually a passing car rescued the rest of her family from what could have been death.
“I never thought I would live to see this horror,” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks as she described the 37-day trek to Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp.
Tens of thousands of Somalis have watched their land dry up after years without rain. Then the livestock died. Finally all the food ran out. Now they are making the perilous journey over parched earth to refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, regions that also have been hit hard by drought.
Recently-arrived Somali refugees wait to fill jerry cans with water at a newly-installed tank in Iffou 2, an area earmarked for refugee camp expansion, but yet to be approved by the Kenyan government, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, July 11, 2011. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #
Members of the family of Rage Mohamed are overtaken by wind-blown dust as they build a makeshift shelter around a thorny acacia tree, on the outskirts of Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Sunday, July 10, 2011. It took the 15-person family five days to make the journey from their drought-stricken home in Somalia. They spent two nights sleeping in the open air under the tree prior to receiving tarps on Sunday. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #
A young Somali girl who fled violence and drought in Somalia stands in line among adults outside a food distribution point in Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya on July 5, 2011. Dadaab, a complex of three settlements, is the world's largest refugee camp. Built to house 90,000 people and home to more than four times that number, it was already well over its maximum capacity before an influx of 30,000 refugees in the month of June. Upon arrival, the refugees find themselves tackling a chaotic system that sees new arrivals go days, even weeks, without food aid. "It still takes too much time for refugees to get proper assistance," Antoine Froidevaux, MSF's field coordinator in Dadaab told AFP. "The answer in terms of humanitarian aid is not satisfactory at all at the moment." ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #
A Somali woman waiting amongst scores of other refugees, all hoping to receive their ration cards despite a processing backlog, pleads with an organizer in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, July 11, 2011. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #
A Somali man who fled violence and drought in Somalia with his family sits on the ground outside a food distribution point in the Dadaab refugee camp. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #
One-year-old, Habibo Bashir, rests on a bed at a Doctors Without Borders hospital where he is being treated for severe malnutrition, in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, July 11, 2011. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #
A refugee holds her child in her arms as she and others like her mass outside a food distribution point in Dadaab in the hope of getting access to much needed aid at the worlds biggest refugee camp in the world on July 4, 2011. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. With serious drought in the Horn of Africa, thousands of Somalis have arrived in recent weeks in search of food and water. AFP PHOTO/Roberto SCHMIDT #
A Somali refugee drags a sack with food aid given to her at a food distribution point at the Dadaab refugee camp. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #
Refugees newly arrived from Somalia line up to receive food rations at a receiving center in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates 1300 new refugees fleeing drought and hunger in Somalia are arriving daily in the Dadaab area. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #
Somali refugees wait in line to recieve aid at a food distribution point at Dadaab refugee camp. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images) #
A Somali man accesses a water point at the Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #
A Somali girl being treated for severe malnutrition pushes away a cup as a woman tries to feed her at a hospital operated by the International Rescue Commission. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #
A Somali refugee waits to receive a food ration for her and her family at a food distribution point. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #
Somali refugees sit in the yard of their makeshift shelter, fenced in with thorny branches, in Iffou 2, an area earmarked for refugee camp expansion, but yet to be approved by the Kenyan government, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, July 11, 2011. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #
A Somali woman walks past the frame for a sparsely-covered makeshift shelter in Iffou 2, an area earmarked for refugee camp expansion. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #
A carcass of an animal lies on an empty road, near Lagbogal, 56 kilometers from Wajir town, Wednesday, July 6, 2011. The worst drought in the Horn of Africa has sparked a severe food crisis and high malnutrition rates, with parts of Kenya and Somalia experiencing pre-famine conditions, the United Nations has said. More than 10 million people are now affected in drought-stricken areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda and the situation is deteriorating, (AP Photo/ Sayyid Azim) #
Sixty-year-old Suban Osman sits with two of her malnourished grand children at a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) at the Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #
Two-year-old, Aden Salaad, looks up toward his mother, unseen, as she bathes him in a tub at a Doctors Without Borders hospital, where Aden is receiving treatment for malnutrition, in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #
A Somali boy uses a wheelbarrow to carry two jerry cans filled with water to a tent that he and his family call home at the worlds biggest refugee camp. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #
Two-year-old Shiniyo looks while bundled in her mothers arms while they stay at a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #
A Kenyan doctor looks at the IV drip on a child suffering from severe malnutrition at a clinic run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) at the Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. According to Doctors Without Borders, the number of people seeking refugee keeps swelling and Dadaab will house 450,000 refugees by the end of the year, or twice the population of Geneva. With serious drought in the Horn of Africa, thousands of Somalis have arrived in recent weeks in search of food and water. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #
Children walk down a dusty street in Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. Fatimah who fled violence in Somalia with her family one year ago says that she does not venture outside the camp to look for firewood because it is too dangerous. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. With serious drought in the Horn of Africa, thousands of Somalis have arrived in recent weeks in search of food and water. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
Two years ago drought has destroyed much of the wheat crop in Russia, the world’s third-largest exporter, and now wildfires are sweeping in to finish off some of the fields that remained. Moscow announced a ban on grain exports due to the severe drought that has reduced this year’s estimated harvest by a third. This could be the outcome of the big drought here in the USA.
Natalia Solonina, 70, stands in front of the charred chimneys, all that was left of the houses, after a spreading wildfire burned them to the ground as well as the entire village of Peredeltsy in Ryazan region, some 180 km (111 miles) southeast of Moscow, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2010. Nearly 600 separate blazes were burning nationwide Saturday, mainly across western Russia, according to the Emergencies Ministry, which said that the area affected had increased over the past 24 hours. Hundreds of forest and peat bog fires have ignited amid the country's most intense heat wave in 130 years of record-keeping. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev) #
A Russian man walks in a forest near the village of Golovanovo, Ryazan region, on August 5, 2010.Russia struggled to contain the worst wildfires in its modern history that have killed 50, after President Dmitry Medvedev sacked top military officers for negligence in the catastrophe. AFP PHOTO / NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA #
A fire fighter attempts to extinguish a forest fire near the village of Dolginino in the Ryazan region, some 180 km (111 miles) southeast of Moscow. The new climate change treaty under negotiation for the last 2 1/2 years begins with a brief document called "A Shared Vision." The problem is, there isn't one. The latest round of talks that concluded Friday Aug. 6, 2010 showed that the 194 negotiating countries have failed to even define a common target or method for curbing greenhouse gases, just one example of the ongoing divide among rich and poor nations. (AP Photo/File) #
Russian people dig a ditch to protect them from fires in the village Mokhovoye, Lukhovitsi municipal district, some 130 kilometers from Moscow, on August 3, 2010. Russia's worst heatwave for decades shows no sign of relenting, officials warned as firefighters battled hundreds of wildfires in a national disaster that has claimed at least 40 lives. President Dmitry Medvedev has declared a state of emergency in seven Russian regions over the fires which have left tens of thousands of hectares of land ablaze and uprooted hundreds from their homes. AFP PHOTO / ANDREY SMIRNOV #
A tree trunk burning amid smoldering remnants of a forest outside the village of Kadanok, 90 miles (150 kilometers) southeast of Moscow, seen Tuesday, Aug, 3, 2010. The fires in forests, fields and peat bogs have killed up to 40 people throughout Russia and come after weeks of searing heat and practically no rain. The weather in the areas where the blazes are concentrated are forecast to reach 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) this week. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) #
Local residents make a human chain to carry buckets of water to extinguishes a peat fire in a forest near the town of Shatura, some 130 km (81 miles) southeast of Moscow, Thursday, July 29, 2010. Peat swamps started burning in central Russia following an unprecedented heat wave. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev) #
A man sits on burned out car in the village Kriusha on August 7, 2010. Russia struggled to contain the worst wildfires in its modern history that have killed 52, after President Dmitry Medvedev sacked top military officers for negligence in the catastrophe. AFP PHOTO / ARTYOM KOROTAYEVKOROTAYEV #
Russian women cry near the remains of their burnt out homes in Voronezh on August 1, 2010. Firefighters fought an uphill battle against spreading forest fires that have already killed 30 people, destroyed thousands of homes and mobilised hundreds of thousands of emergency workers. The emergency ministry said that forest fires had engulfed more than 114,000 hectares across Russia. It mobilised almost 240,000 emergency workers to fight the blazes, along with 2,000 members of the armed forces. AFP PHOTO / ALEXEY SAZONOV#
A nun from the Vyksynsky Iversky monastery distributes food to volunteer firefighters in the forest near the village of Verhnyaya Vereya, some 350 kilometres from Moscow, on August 6, 2010. AFP PHOTO / ANDREY SMIRNOV #
Alexander, 26, collects potatoes in the garden of his house that was burned to the ground fire at the village of Peredeltsi that was burned to the ground by a wildfire in Ryazan region, some 180 km (111 miles) southeast of Moscow, Friday, Aug. 6, 2010. More than 500 separate blazes were burning nationwide Friday mainly across western Russia, amid the country's most intense heat wave in 130 years. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev) #
The carcass of a charred bird, foreground, lies in the village of Mokhovoe destroyed by a forest fire near the town of Lukhovitsy some 135 km (84 miles) southeast of Moscow, Friday, July 30, 2010. The fires have spread quickly across more than 200,000 acres (90,000 hectares) in recent days, destroying this town, after a record heat wave and severe drought that has plagued Russia for weeks. (AP Photo/Dmitry Chistopudov) #
A Russian man scratches his head while standing near the charred remains of his burnt out home in Voronezh on August 3, 2010. Russia's worst heatwave for decades shows no sign of relenting, officials warned as firefighters battled hundreds of wildfires in a national disaster that has claimed at least 40 lives. President Dmitry Medvedev has declared a state of emergency in seven Russian regions over the fires which have left tens of thousands of hectares of land ablaze and uprooted hundreds from their homes. AFP PHOTO / Alexey SAZONOV #
A ceramic dog statue that survived last week's fire is seen surrounded by burned-down ruins of the wooden house in the village of Kadanok, 90 miles (150 kilometers) southeast of Moscow, seen Tuesday, Aug, 3, 2010. The fires in forests, fields and peat bogs have killed up to 40 people throughout Russia and come after weeks of searing heat and practically no rain. The weather in the areas where the blazes are concentrated are forecast to reach 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) this week. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) #
A forest fire volunteer on a burned field near the village of Plotava in the east of the Moscow, Aug. 5, 2010. In this summer of extreme heat, drought, crop failures and a nationwide eruption of wildfires, the Russian government is facing a rare upwelling of popular anger with more than 3,000 people left homeless because of fires. (James Hill/The New York Times) #
A Bulgarian firefighter drinks water from a fire hose while fighting a blaze in the forest near Noginsk on August 10, 2010. Russia fought a deadly battle to prevent wildfires from engulfing key nuclear sites as alarm mounted over the impact on health of a toxic smoke cloud that has shrouded Moscow. AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV #
Volunteers look at the sky as they prepare for extinguishing a fire at a forest near the village of Tokhushevo, some 50 km outside Sarov, on August 11, 2010. A new wildfire broke out Wednesday near a major nuclear research centre in the Russian town of Sarov, causing the plant's management to ask firefighters and troops to reverse their withdrawal. AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV #
Russian firefighters prepare to extinguish a fire at a forest near the village of Tokhushevo, some 50 km outsede Sarov on August 11, 2010. A new wildfire broke out Wednesday near a major nuclear research centre in the Russian town of Sarov, causing the plant's management to ask firefighters and troops to reverse their withdrawal. AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV #
Fading sunflowers droop in a field in Voronezh region, some 415 km (257 miles) south of Moscow, Monday, Aug. 2, 2010, after weeks of searing heat and practically no rain. A severe drought destroyed one-fifth of the wheat crop in Russia, the world's third-largest exporter, and now wildfires are sweeping in to finish off some of the fields that remained.(AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel) #
In this photo taken from the driver's cab, farmers bring in the harvest with their combine harvesters, which are reflected in the mirror, in a barley field near the village of Uzunovo in Moscow region, 170 km (105 miles) south of Moscow, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010. Last week, Moscow announced a ban on grain exports due to a severe drought that has reduced this year's estimated harvest by a third. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev) #
Russian women organize donated clothing and household items at a humanitarian aid collection point in Moscow on August 10, 2010 for victim's of the nation's worst ever forest fires. Russia is starting to count the losses of the worst heatwave in its history, with economists saying the weather may cost the economy billions of dollars and undercut a modest economic revival. AFP PHOTO / NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA #
Teenagers jump into fountains to cool themselves in Alexandrovsky Garden just outside the Moscow Kremlin, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010. Usually Russia's summer snags are little more than a brief irritation; a few days of heat, followed by cooling rains. This year is different. Moscow, a city that has beaten back huge military assaults and survived horrifying terrorist attacks, is under a quiet siege that it seems helpless to repel. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)#
A couple rest in Alexander's Garden just outside Moscow's Kremlin, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2010, enjoying the brief respite from the smog due to a change in the wind direction. Deaths in Moscow have doubled to an average of 700 people a day as the Russian capital is engulfed by poisonous smog from wildfires and a sweltering heat wave, a top health official said Monday. Acrid smog blanketed Moscow for a six straight day Monday, with concentrations of carbon monoxide and other poisonous substances two to three times higher than what is considered safe. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev) #
A newly married couple, no name given, celebrate their wedding despite the deep layer of smog from wildfires covering the ancient Russian city of Ryazan, some 180 km (111 miles) southeast of Moscow. Nearly 600 separate blazes were burning nationwide Saturday, mainly across western Russia, according to the Emergencies Ministry, which said that the area affected had increased over the past 24 hours. Hundreds of forest and peat bog fires have ignited amid the country's most intense heat wave in 130 years of record-keeping. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev) #
A man sprays water on Tverskaya street in the center of Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Aug. 2, 2010. In many Russian regions, including Moscow, July was the hottest month since records began 130 years ago, and the heat wave is expected to last at least through the end of this week. Photographer: Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Bloomberg #
Russian women organize donated clothing and household items at a humanitarian aid collection point in Moscow on August 10, 2010 for victim's of the nation's worst ever forest fires. Russia is starting to count the losses of the worst heatwave in its history, with economists saying the weather may cost the economy billions of dollars and undercut a modest economic revival. AFP PHOTO / NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA #
A young woman cools off in a fountain near the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Aug. 2, 2010. In many Russian regions, including Moscow, July was the hottest month since records began 130 years ago, and the heat wave is expected to last at least through the end of this week. Photographer: Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Bloomberg #
People rest on the Manezhaya Square just outside the Moscow Kremlin, Monday, Aug. 9, 2010, enjoying the brief respite from the smog due to a change in the wind direction. Deaths in Moscow have doubled to an average of 700 people a day as the Russian capital is engulfed by poisonous smog from wildfires and a sweltering heat wave, a top health official said Monday. Acrid smog blanketed Moscow for a six straight day Monday, with concentrations of carbon monoxide and other poisonous substances two to three times higher than what is considered safe. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev) #
Local residents look at a heavy smog from a peat fire in a forest near the town of Shatura, some 130 km (81 miles) southeast of Moscow, Thursday, July 29, 2010. Peat swamps started burning in central Russia following an unprecedented heat wave. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)
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