Famine is an extreme and widespread shortage of food that causes severe hunger, malnutrition and death across a region. A famine is officially declared by national governments or senior UN humanitarian officials when several conditions are met: at least one in five households suffers from extreme food shortages, more than 30 percent of children are acutely malnourished, and two or more people out of every 10,000 die each day from hunger or related illness.*
Famines have occurred throughout history, but since the 1960s their frequency and death toll have declined sharply. A major reason is the Green Revolution, which introduced higher-yielding crops, fertilizers, and modern irrigation methods that greatly increased food production in many countries. Combined with better food storage and distribution systems, early-warning programs, and stronger social safety nets, these advances have helped many societies prevent local crop failures from turning into mass starvation.
However, this progress remains fragile, partly because the Green Revolution also had significant environmental downsides, including intensive fertilizer and pesticide use, the creation of monocultures, and high water demands. It is unlikely that these practices can be sustained in the long run.
Today, famines usually arise from a combination of human and environmental factors rather than just a lack of food. Armed conflict is one of the leading causes, as it destroys farms and markets, forces people from their land, blocks roads, and sometimes intentionally cuts off food and other aid. Extreme weather and natural disasters, such as droughts, floods and cyclones, along with the other effects of climate change are also playing an increasing role.
These immediate causes are often intensified by deeper social and economic problems. Poverty and inequality restrict access to food even when supplies exist. Political instability, corruption and poor governance can block humanitarian relief or even weaponize starvation. Economic shocks and global disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or major wars, deepen crises by driving up food and fuel prices, eliminating jobs, and pushing already vulnerable rural and urban communities into even greater insecurity.
The risk of famine will likely increase in the coming years as environmental pressures intensify. Climate change is altering rainfall and temperature patterns, leading to more frequent and unpredictable droughts, floods and heat waves. These extremes reduce crop yields, kill livestock, and disrupt planting and harvesting, particularly in regions that depend on rain-fed farming. As global temperatures climb, soils dry out and pests and plant diseases spread, threatening major food-producing areas.
Another growing concern is the deterioration of soil and freshwater resources. Farmland is being degraded through erosion, salinization, pollution, and the loss of organic matter and minerals. At the same time, water supplies are shrinking due to overuse, groundwater depletion, drought and contamination. In regions where aquifers are drained faster than they can be replenished, wells run dry, crops fail, and rural livelihoods collapse.
The diminishing of biodiversity also weakens the resilience of food systems. As pollinators, soil organisms, crop wild relatives and fisheries decline, ecosystem processes that sustain fertile soils, regulate pests, and support recovery from climate shocks begin to break down. This erosion of ecosystem services weakens agricultural productivity over time and further adds to the risk of famine and ecological collapse.
Population growth compounds these pressures in many of the poorest and most climate-vulnerable countries, where food production is already under stress. Rapidly growing populations increase the demand for food, water and land while putting additional pressure on fragile social and economic systems.
These mounting pressures can also fuel a dangerous cycle of violence. As environmental degradation and hunger intensify, competition over land, water and other resources is likely to increase, heightening the risk of armed conflict. In turn, fighting disrupts food production, drives people from their homes and land, and blocks humanitarian aid, deepening the threat of famine.
The failure of the wealthy and industrializing nations to take far stronger measures to shift to cleaner energy sources, cut their greenhouse gas emissions and reduce excessive resource use will undermine even the best adaptation efforts by the lowest income and developing regions, and will likely lead to increases in both the incidence and the severity of famines.
Moreover, as climate change and environmental damage begin to strain food systems in the wealthier nations, their ability, and their willingness, to provide food aid, financial assistance, and emergency relief may decline, leaving the poorest and most climate-vulnerable regions even more exposed to hunger and instability.
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*This definition was created in 2004 for use in Somalia as part of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a common food security classification tool originally developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' (FAO) Food Security Analysis Unit together with international partners. It has subsequently been expanded into a global standard.