The threat of food shortages

Persistently high temperatures and dry conditions are raising the prospects of food scarcity in Europe. The weather conditions are affecting major producers of wheat, corn, olive oil and fruit.

Sicily has become a flashpoint for this crisis, with much of wheat production under threat, animal feed severely affected and water supplies at a critical low. Sicilian farmers told The Associated Press that, if these conditions persist, they will have to sell off their animals. The island, the Mediterranean's largest, plays an outsized role in the production of the kind of wheat used for Italian pasta, with 20% of Italy's hard wheat grown there.

Also hit hard, in Sicily and elsewhere, is fruit production, with higher prices reflecting the new reality. If weather conditions persist, the danger that the island will turn from a bread basket to a net importer of foodstuffs is very...