Study Warns of ’Phosphogeddon’: Morocco’s Phosphorus Reserves Raise Global Environmental Concerns

British researchers are warning about the excessive use of phosphorus. According to them, the misuse of phosphorus could lead to deadly fertilizer shortages that would disrupt global food production. In addition, phosphate fertilizers discharged from fields, as well as sewage discharged into rivers, lakes and seas, cause algal blooms and create dead aquatic zones that threaten fish stocks, reports The Guardian. They also warned that the excessive use of phosphorus increases methane emissions on the planet, contributing to global warming and the climate crisis caused by carbon emissions.

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"We have reached a critical turning point," said Professor Phil Haygarth of Lancaster University. We may be able to turn back, but we really need to get a lot smarter in the way we use phosphorus. If we don’t, we risk a calamity we’ve called ’phosphogeddon’."

Morocco has the largest amount of phosphorus in the world. It is followed by China and Algeria. US reserves now represent only 1% of previous levels. "Traditional natural phosphate reserves are relatively scarce and have been depleted as they have been extracted for fertilizer production," explained Professor Penny Johnes of the University of Bristol, convinced that "there is no life on Earth without phosphorus."