Future of lettuce at risk: heat above 40 °C may make traditional cultivation unfeasible

Planting lettuce in open fields in Brazil could become a major challenge in the coming decades. This is the main conclusion of the climate risk maps for lettuce production in the country, prepared by researchers from Embrapa Vegetables (DF), based on projections from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) and models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The maps will be launched this Sunday (16), at 4:30 PM, at the AgriTalks Arena of AgriZone, Embrapa's House of Sustainable Agriculture, during the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), in Belém (PA). They reveal that, by the end of the century, almost the entire Brazilian territory will present high or very high risk for the cultivation of the most consumed vegetable by Brazilians. The maps are active cartographic products prepared based on two climate scenarios: an optimistic one, with partial control of greenhouse gas emissions, and a pessimistic one, in which emissions continue ...