By Hongji Kim and Minwoo ParkSANCHEONG COUNTY, South Korea, June 4 (Reuters) – Park Gyeong-je started tending beehives almost five decades ago, making it his livelihood because he liked spending time in nature. These days, however, the changing climate is making him question how much longer he and his fellow farmers can survive.The 65-year-old runs a beekeeping farm in South Korea’s southern Sancheong county, but he is a migratory beekeeper, meaning he criss-crosses the country with his hives to chase seasonal flower blooms.AdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, rising temperatures due to climate change are shortening seasons, causing flowers to bloom earlier and for shorter periods. The weather changes have also brought strong winds, which can make it harder for bees to find their way back to their hives.Mites and new diseases have also hit the bee population.”City people don’t notice seasons, but farmers feel them directly. Now it feels like only summer and winter remain,” Park told Reuters as he tended to his hives. He started with just eight back in 1979 and now has about 110. Together, they house roughly 8.8 million bees.”Now, because of climate change, it is very hard for beekeeping farmers to survive,” Park said.AdvertisementAdvertisementGLOBAL WORRIESStudies have shown that climate change has harmed bees globally, impacting honey production and many other outdoor and indoor crops, such as apples, strawberries and tomatoes, which need the insects for pollination.”A decline in the (bee population) ultimately affects the food supply,” said Yeh Sang-Wook, a climate and ener …
