Hacking Hunger – Episode 35: Cold and Polluted

Published September 5, 2019

For the fourth year in a row, hunger is on the rise globally. And one of the main reasons is climate change. The number of extreme climate-related disasters has doubled since the early 1990s, with an average of 213 of these events occurring every year.

One of the places where you can see the effects of climate change very clearly is Mongolia – a country new to the United Nations World Food Programme’s (WFP) work. We sat down with Darko Petrovich and Amit Wadhwa, who are spearheading the U.N. World Food Programme’s efforts in the country – one of the coldest and most polluted places in the world.

“Usually when we talk about disasters we talk about drought, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis,” Darko told us. “But in Mongolia, the situation is very specific, very special. Disaster in Mongolia is actually about the cold.”

Listen above to hear more about Darko and Amit’s work in the country.

*Learn more about PRISM, the hunger-fighting technology discussed in the podcast.