Extreme Temperature Diary- Thursday February 13th, 2025/ Main Topic: Climate Change Is Threatening Our Chocolate

💔 Climate change is putting chocolate at risk. 🍫Cacao trees are highly sensitive to temperature. More heat stress can reduce growth, lower yields, and impact the quality of cocoa beans.Read @climatecentral.org 's analysis here: www.climatecentral.org/report/analy…

Katharine Hayhoe (@katharinehayhoe.com) 2025-02-12T20:35:12.522Z

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

Download report

SOUTH AMERICA More monthly heat records🇦🇷43.7 Reconquista,43.5 ChamicalHigh Tmins:29.9 Reconquista,27.6 Mercedes and Chamical🇺🇾41.6 Bella Union,41.5 ArtigasHigh Tmins:27.4 Salto,26.9 Paysandu🇧🇷40.6 Sao Gabriel,40.2 Camaqua40.0 Santa Maria,39.7 Rio Pardo,39.5 Teutonia

Extreme Temperatures Around the World (@extremetemps.bsky.social) 2025-02-12T15:00:59.001Z

I was just told that I have to remove “climate” from the title of an ongoing grant if I want to keep it. And publications from that grant cannot include “climate” and other forbidden words. I can’t believe I’m writing this from the United States of America. #AcademicSky

Alessandro Rigolon (@alerigolon.bsky.social) 2025-02-10T21:00:06.839Z
https://twitter.com/cartermurphy218/status/1890092373461594422

This week's blog post celebrates a fresh snowfall that all too soon ended up being wet and heavy – west coast snow. watershednotes.ca/2025/02/12/s…

Sarah Boon (@snowhydro.bsky.social) 2025-02-13T19:15:27.948Z

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Trevor A. Branch (@trevorabranch.bsky.social) 2025-02-13T18:42:16.284Z
https://twitter.com/ScienceMagazine/status/1890115004000510403

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