The U.N. urges officials in Europe and Central Asia to beef up monitoring of the regions' food supplies as global warming creates new health problems.
An event marking the UN’s World Food Day highlighted the growing health threat climate change poses to food, water safety and nutrition.
In a statement issued at the seminar in Rome, organizers cautioned that higher temperatures will favor the growth of harmful bacteria in food.
Hotter conditions may also promote the emergence of flies or other pests, and make it easier for diseases to be transmitted from vertebrate animals to humans.
The statement said that Europe and central Asia were at the greatest risks of such perils, cautioning health officials there to bolster disease surveillance and ensure water supplies remain safe as the climate warms.
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