Drought may exacerbate Syria hunger crisis

A month-long drought is threatening to exacerbate a hunger crisis in Syria, as wheat might be scarce this year due to poor harvests, according to UN estimates. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) expects wheat harvest to be “way down” this season compared to last year, FAO representative in Syria Michael Robson said. The Welthungerhilfe, a German charity whose name loosely translates as World Food Aid, warned that the number of people dependent on humanitarian aid would increase drastically.

“The hunger situation of the people in Syria is already absolutely catastrophic today,” said Syria coordinator Konstantin Witschel.