Assessing Options to Reduce the Impacts of Extreme Heat in Agriculture.

The most ubiquitous change in cropping systems associated with global warming will likely be increased exposure to heat waves. Three strategies for dealing with that, both in developed and developing countries, is breeding more heat tolerant varieties, changing the cropping system to avoid sensitive growth stages in the hottest part of the year (for instance by double-cropping), and increasing the use of irrigation. The relative benefits and costs of each of these strategies remain unclear. This talk will present analyses of each strategy in different contexts, including the U.S., Australia, and West Africa.