Australia’s volatile climate which experts warn will produce increasing extremes has already contributed to a loss of farmland the size of Ukraine. Australia’s Climate Commission warned this week that the heat waves, drought, fires, and cyclones that have hit over the past months will become more severe. More than 60 million hectares or 600,000 square kilometers, or an area the size of Germany and the UK combined has fallen out of production over the past 2 decades. Much of this is due to land being retired because of poor productivity and limited water supply. Western Australia, the country’s biggest grain-growing state has become the focus of drought concerns. The Climate Commission is warning of a 15% drop in rainfall there since the mid 1970’s with a further 10% drop by 2030 and a 20% drop by 2050 causing some to doubt Australia’s role in helping Asia meet its food security demands in the future.