Stock Up on Food Because of El Niño, Says British Minister
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle has advised the British public to stock up on food because of the approaching El Niño weather phenomenon, said to be the ‘biggest on record’. The Telegraph has more.
Dame Angela Eagle said people in the UK should store supplies in case of emergencies caused by the natural weather phenomenon, which is predicted to strengthen in the coming months.
Her comments came after Ministers were warned that Britain must prepare for the threat of food shortages.
Forecasters have warned that the weather pattern, which can increase the risk of drought and flooding across the world, needs to be taken seriously in Britain.
Dame Angela said this year’s El Niño would lead to wetter winters and more extreme storms in the UK, which has already experienced one of the driest summers on record.
She told the Guardian: “We’re about to experience probably the largest El Niño that has ever been seen. It will do a lot more damage in Asia with flooding, and therefore I think that we need to take it seriously.”
She added: “If you’ve got a store of a bit of food that can keep you going for a while before the emergency services can get to you, you’re going to be a lot better off than if you haven’t.
“So some of it is that kind of preparation for just being a bit more resilient.”
Dame Angela’s comments came after the National Audit Office (NAO) said disruption to Britain’s food system was “becoming more likely and potentially more severe” because of extreme weather events.
Ministers were told by the quango to do more to prepare for these potential “catastrophic events” that could cause severe disruption to the nation’s food supplies.
The NAO called for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) to urgently work with businesses and households to draw up emergency plans that could be used in the event of shortages.
Worth reading in full.