How Climate Change Is Already Affecting Food, Water, and Power

By Adeponle Oluwabusolami Janet

Matric No: 230902111

Introduction

Climate change used to sound like a problem for the future. People talked about what might happen in fifty years. But if you look at how we live today the future is already here. You can see the impact in the market and in your house. The systems we rely on for food and water and lights are all connected. When the weather changes these systems struggle. This is not about polar bears. It is about the price of rice and whether the lights turn on when you flip the switch.

Farming is basically an outdoor factory. It relies on predictable rain and sun. When the weather goes crazy the crops fail. You have probably seen the price of food go up and down wildly. Maybe tomatoes are suddenly expensive or yams are scarce. This happens when a harvest fails because of drought or flood. If it is too hot the plants die. If it rains at the wrong time the crops rot. This makes food harder to find and more expensive to buy. It affects what your family eats every day.

Water seems like it should always be there when you turn the tap. But that water comes from rivers and rain. When the rains change the water supply becomes unreliable. Some months the dams are empty and the city has to ration water. You might have days where no water flows at all. This is not just annoying. It stops businesses from working. Factories need water to run machines. Power plants need water to cool down. When water is low everything slows down. You end up buying water from trucks or walking further to find it.

Electricity is tied to the weather too. A lot of power comes from dams that need full rivers to work. When there is a drought the water level drops and the turbines cannot spin. Power generation goes down. At the same time it is hotter so everyone wants to use fans and air conditioning. This creates a problem. Supply is low but demand is high. The result is blackouts. You might be trying to study or charge your phone and the power cuts. Extreme heat also damages the power lines and transformers making the whole grid less stable.

Climate change also messes up how things get to you. Storms can damage roads and bridges. Floods can make highways impassable. When trucks cannot deliver goods the shops run empty. This makes everything more expensive because it costs more to move things around. You might go to the shop and find they do not have the basics you need. Or the price of a bus ticket goes up because the road is bad. These are the hidden costs of a changing climate. It makes daily life harder and more expensive.

Conclusion

These problems are real and they are happening now. You see them in the higher price of food. You feel them when the water stops flowing. You experience them when the lights go out. Food and water and power are the basics of life. Climate change is shaking the stability of these basics. Recognizing this helps you understand that this is a local issue. It affects your purse and your comfort and your daily routine.