The Government has said there is "no current evidence" that the El Nino weather phenomenon will lead to food security issues across the UK.
The El Nino phenomenon is expected to create a heightened risk of drought in the tropics, southern Africa and north-east Australia, while the Met Office said the rest of north-western Europe, including the UK, is also likely to experience wetter and stormier conditions in the coming autumn and early winter.
Lord Katz said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was working with the Met Office to examine the potential impact of the "unprecedented" phenomenon which is set to reach its highest level since the 19th century. However, he said current modelling did not show any impact on the UK's ability to access food.
Environment Secretary's warning
It comes after Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle wrote in The Guardian, last week, that people should start to store food for "emergencies". She told The Guardian: "We're about to experience probably the largest El Nino that has ever been seen, and that will lead to drier summers, wetter winters, with more extreme storms in this country."
"It will do a lot more damage in Asia with flooding, and therefore I think that we need to take it seriously. 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."
Lords question government strategy
Asking an oral question in the House of Lords, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in Northern Ireland, Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick said: "Only last week, the secretary general of the United Nations indicated that the El Nino effect will have been more pronounced in the next few months, and will have direct implications for food security."
"I know, and I welcome the fact that our Labour Government has been working on that multi-departmental approach to dealing with the impact of climate change."
She added: "Therefore, could my noble friend the minister indicate when the Government is unveiling the strategy in 2026 to bring the UK closer into line with the EU in terms of emergency preparedness? And what is it likely to recommend to protect food security and to ensure that our rural communities are more resilient to the impact of El Nino?"
Speaking from the Government benches, Lord Katz said the Government was working to examine the impact on the UK of El Nino, including for the food system. He said: "There is no current evidence that this event will lead to food security issues for the UK though, of course, we continue to assess emerging evidence and forecasts as well as industry intelligence."
He added the Government would launch a campaign later this year to inform the public of what they can do to prepare for power cuts or storms.
Scientific forecasts and concerns
El Nino is caused by sea temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rising 0.5C above the long-term average. Last month, the head of long-range forecasting at the Met Office, Professor Adam Scaife, said he had "never seen an El Nino signal this intense".
Meanwhile, Prof Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysical hazards, University College London, said the Met Office and other scientific forecasts "suggest that the world is in for one hell of a ride". As a result, concerns have been rising over whether the weather phenomenon could impact food availability and food prices.
Lord Harris said: "I have to say I am slightly disconcerted by the assumption that somehow this will not have an impact on food supplies because directly, and indirectly, it will." Lord Katz replied: "(I'm) not saying there won't be any impact on supply chains but, in terms of wider food security, I think we can have at the moment a greater certainty around the evidence there will be an impact."
Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Grender said: "Given the UN's warning that 50 million people worldwide face acute hunger from this super El Nino, what assessment has the Government made specifically of risk to British food security?" Lord Katz replied: "As we currently stand, the intelligence that we have is that there is no impact or evidence that the El Nino event will lead to food security issues for the UK."
