Malnutrition and Climate in Niger: Findings from Climate Indices and Crop Yield Simulations.

ABSTRACT: Malnutrition, particularly its impact on child morbidity and mortality, is one of the top five health effects of climate change. However, quantifying the portion of malnutrition attributed to climate remains challenging due to various confounding factors. This study examines the relationship between climate and acute malnutrition in Niger, a country highly vulnerable to climate change and disasters. Since climate's effect on malnutrition is indirect, mediated by crop production, we combine rainfall data from TAMSAT satellite estimates with the SARRA-O crop model, which simulates the impact of rainfall variability on crop yields. Our analysis reveals a significant correlation between malnutrition and both rainfall and crop production from the previous year, but not within the same year. The

SUBMITTER: Sultan B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12026833 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature