The climate crisis drove weeks of high temperatures in the west African region responsible for about 70% of global cacao production, hitting harvests and probably causing further record chocolate prices, researchers have said.
A new report found that “climate change, due primarily to burning oil, coal and methane gas, is causing hotter temperatures to become more frequent” in places such as the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria.
The report calculated that over the last decade, global heating had added an extra three weeks of temperatures exceeding 32C in Ivory Coast and Ghana during the main growing season between October and March.
Last year, the hottest year globally on record, they found global heating drove temperatures above 32C on at least 42 days across two thirds of the areas analysed.
“Growing cocoa is a vital livelihood for many of the poorest people around the world and human-caused climate change is putting that under serious threat,” said Osai Ojigho, the director of Christian Aid’s policy and public campaigns.
