In a report issued at the beginning of the UN climate talks being staged in Durban, Oxfam have warned that surges in food prices caused by storms and droughts could be a "grim foretaste" of what lies ahead when climate change worsens.
The British charity reminded delegates that recent spikes in wheat, corn and sorghum prices were triggered by extreme weather.
The effect of this drove tens of millions into poverty over the past 18 months.
"This will only get worse as climate change gathers pace and agriculture feels the heat," insisted Oxfam's Kelly Dent. "When a weather event drives local or regional price spikes, poor people often face a double shock.
"They have to cope with higher food prices at a time when extreme weather may have also killed their livestock, destroyed their home or farm, or stripped them of their livelihood.
"This toxic mix of higher prices and lower purchasing power has driven many people into crisis this year," said Dent.
"If we don't act in Durban, this pattern could become even worse."
Oxfam explained exactly how these price hikes were affecting the poor.
"For the poorest who spend up to 75% of their income on food, price rises on this scale can have consequences as families are forced into impossible trade-offs in a desperate bid to feed themselves," it said.
"More frequent and extreme weather events will compound things further, creating shortages, destabilising markets and precipitating price spikes, which will be felt on top of the structural price rises predicted by the models."