Pests flee poleward

Various crop pests are moving toward the poles as the planet’s climate warms, a new study finds.

Organisms such as the disease-causing rice blast fungus—which is now present in 80 countries—are threatening global food security as they continue their migration poleward to escape rising temperatures, according to Climate News Network.

“Renewed efforts are required to monitor the spread of crop pests and to control their movement from region to region if we are to halt the relentless destruction of crops across the world in the face of climate change,” said Sandra Gurr, of the UK’s Exeter University; Gurr was one of several researchers who worked on the study, which was published in the journal Nature Climate Change.