Work

Decadal changes in wind speed have offset and then aggravated the impact of warming on maize production in China since 1980

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: decrease in growing-season wind speed anomaly after controlling for temperature and precipitation. Three decades of decreasing wind speed between 1980 and 2010 have enhanced China's maize production by 101.2 Mt, fully offsetting the loss due to warming temperatures. However, this compensatory effect has rapidly diminished in the last decade due to the reversal of wind trends, with expanding areas experiencing both increasing wind speeds and warming temperatures. The wind effect is substantially underestimated by crop models, exposing gaps in our current evaluation of climate risks to food security.

Source: Nature Communications

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64725-z