The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track planetary extreme, or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😉
Main Topic: Climate Change Is Threatening Our Chocolate
Dear Diary. Tomorrow is Valentines Day in which boxes of chocolate are traditionally given to loved ones. Kids also share chocolate during this special day. Like so many food items, the agricultural growth of chocolate is threatened by climate change. Apparently, it is getting so hot across tropical areas of Africa that chocolate production is being affected negatively.
Climate Central has recently delved into how increased warming is affecting chocolate production in west Africa. Here is their report:
https://www.climatecentral.org/report/analysis-climate-and-cocoa-2025
Climate change is heating up West Africa’s cocoa belt
Read the full report: Climate change is heating up West Africa’s cocoa belt
Download the data: Data for 44 districts, regions, and states in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria
Key Facts
- Climate change, due primarily to burning oil, coal, and methane gas, is causing hotter temperatures to become more frequent in the four West African countries responsible for producing approximately 70% of the world’s cacao — the key ingredient in chocolate.
- Analysis of daily maximum temperatures during the past decade shows that climate change added at least three weeks above 32°C (89.6°F) annually during the main cacao crop season (October-March) in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Such temperatures are above the optimal temperature range for cacao trees.
- Over the same time period, climate change added just over two weeks above 32°C annually during the main crop season in Cameroon and more than one week in Nigeria.
- In 2024, human-caused climate change added six weeks’ worth of days above 32°C in 71% of cacao-producing areas across Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria.
- While many factors, such as precipitation and insect-borne infections, can affect cacao trees, excessive heat can contribute to a reduction in the quantity and quality of the harvest — potentially increasing global chocolate prices and impacting local economies in West Africa.
Data
Download data (.xlsx) for 44 districts, regions, and states in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria
Report
Major funding provided by the Bezos Earth Fund
Here are more “ETs” recorded from around the planet the last couple of days, their consequences, and some extreme temperature outlooks, as well as any extreme precipitation reports:
Here is some new January 2025 climatology (More reports are archived on prior daily February 2025 posts.):
Here is More Climate News from Thursday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article. The most noteworthy items will be listed first.)