For tens of millions of people around the world putting food on the table is only part of the challenge as they begin the long process of picking up the pieces in the wake of a climate disaster.
Over February and March this year cyclone Freddy became the longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record, killing nearly 1,500 people, destroying crops, roads and bridges as it wreaked havoc across Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar.
COP28: 4 ways the world can curb loss and damage as climate change fuels hunger
In June, deadly floods hit parts of Haiti, a country already reeling from crushing drought since January.
In September, the World Food Programme (WFP) was quick to respond when Hurricane Daniel caused dams to burst, wrecking lives and livelihoods around the Libyan port city of Derna.
And now it's all eyes on Dubai as the world looks to COP28, the UN's annual Climate Change Summit (30 Nov to 12 Dec) for those promises we hope will turn swiftly into actions to protect people on the frontlines of climate change, especially where it intersects with conflict.
Gaza is a tragic example.
In January, Time magazine noted: "Whereas worldwide temperatures have increased by an average of 1.1°C since pre-industrial times, in Israel and the surrounding areas, average temperatures have risen by 1.5°C (2.7°F) between 1950 and 2017, according to the Israeli Meteorological Service, with a forecasted increase of 4°C (7.2°F) by the end of the century."
The projected sea level rise there will mean "a loss of precious real estate as well as saltwater intrusion into an already overtaxed aquifer" - and disaster for food production over the long term.
Last year, the World Food Programme (WFP) worked with over 15 million people across 42 countries so that they might better be able to withstand droughts, floods, storms and other climate shocks. But with nearly 57 million people pushed into hunger by climate impacts last year alone, many more people in fact need protection. At COP28, we need world leaders to strengthen support to those facing the worst climate disasters around the world, through...
