Question: What is the main effect of global warming?

James Taylor answered on 17 Jun 2014:

There are lots of effects, but for agriculture there are a couple of things that interest us. Firstly, plants ‘breathe’ CO2 (not oxygen like us). So increasing the amount of Co2 in the atmosphere actually helps plants grow better. How better will they grow we need to understand. However, to make use of this extra Co2 they still need a good supply of water. The problem is the hotter it gets the less effective rainfall is (more of it evaporates rather than being used by the plants). So plants need Co2 and water but the supply of one is getting better and the supply of other may be getting worse. I say may because in some areas rainfall is expected to increase (while in others (and most) it is expected to diminish). What is also more of a problem is the change in timing of rain and the intensity. The UK has soft rain with small amounts at a time but delivered regularly. Great for growing plants. What happens if all the rain falls in 2 days and then it is dry for 3 months? Our current agricultural practices are not set up for this type of situation.