This story is originally appeared on Milling and is part Air conditioning cooperation.
Only four West African countries are the basis of an industry worth over $ 100 billion. In the tropical nations of the ivory, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria, rows of cocoa trees with dozens of seeds. After collecting, these modest beans are dried, baked and processed into something beloved around the world.
Chocolate has been desired for millennia, and especially in Valentine’s Day, it is a unique sign of love. But because the increasingly unpredictable weather still increases the costs of sweets, the sweet feast has become a symbol of something much less romantic: climate change.
Two reports published last week showed that insulation is moving temperatures outside the optimal range of cocoa growth in countries in the world supply center, especially during the original seasons of the harvest. Research reveals how burning oil, coal and methane bake the planet’s cocoa belt and Coexulating chocolate prices.
“One of the food that the world loves the most is threatened because of climate change,” said Kristina Dahl, vice president of science at the central central climate non -profit, which wrote one of two reports. “I hope that, when hearing that human activity hinders the cultivation of cocoa, it can cause people to stop and thought about our priorities as a species and whether we can and should prioritize activities aimed at limiting future climate change and future damage to this food, which we love so much. “
ABOUT 70 percent It is grown from world cocoa in West Africa, and Côte d’oire, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria are the largest producers. Most of the rest are grown in places with similar climates near the equator, such as Indonesia and Ecuador. The trees are growing best Rainwater conditions With high humidity, ample rain, nitrogen wealthy in nitrogen and natural wind buffers. The exposure to temperatures higher than 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit causes water stress, hinders plant growth and eroses the quality and quantity of seeds that trees give.
Last year, warming added at least six weeks above this threshold in almost two -thirds of kakaka producing on the coast of ivory, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria, probably contributing to catastrophic harvestAccording to Central climate report.
Scientists have examined the temperature data for the region and the estimates of what could have experienced over the last decade in the world without man insulation. They found that in 2015-2024 climate change increased the number of days on which each country experiences temperature ranges above the ideal of cocoa growth by an average of two to four weeks a year. Most of these hotter days appeared during the main crop cycle, when the plants bloom and produce beans. Warming also changes rain patterns, accelerating drought, making it easier to spread destructive diseases Like the rotting capsule and contributing to soil degradation. Another new study It was found that low pollination indicators and higher than average temperatures in Ghana were connected to reduce performance.