Climate change threatens coffee-growing regions — study

DW News · Feb 18, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Key coffee-growing regions around the world are experiencing more days of heat driven by human-made climate change every year, which is leading to lower yields and higher prices for the commodity, researchers said on Wednesday. The report comes as climate scientists say the world has seen the three hottest years on record as the use of fossil fuels and other human activities continue to cause the Earth's atmosphere to warm.The future of coffeeTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What did the analysis show about coffee-harming heat? According to an analysis by the independent research group Climate Central, 25 countries that produce almost all the world's coffee experienced 47 days more of coffee-harming heat on average between 2021 and 2025. The five countries that account for 75% of global coffee production — Brazil, Vietnam, Ethiopia and Indonesia — saw 57 more days of such temperatures in the same period. Temperatures above 30 C (86 F) are "extremely harmful" to arabica coffee plants — the dominant variety making up some 60-70% of global production — and "suboptimal" for the robusta variety that accounts for most of the rest, Climate Central said. For its analysis, Climate Central estimated how many days each year would have stayed below 30C in a world without global warming but exceeded that level in reality.Coffee prices surge as climate and trade shake global supplyTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What did Climate Central say about effects on coffee production? Kristina Dahl, Climate Central's vice president for science, said climate change posed a serious threat to coffee production. "Climate change is coming for our coffee," she said. "Nearly every major coffee-producing country is now experiencing more days of extreme heat that can harm coffee plants, reduce yields and affect quality," she added in a statement. "In time, these impacts may ripple outward from farms to consumers, right into the quality and cost of your daily brew," she said. Climate Central said a recent surge in coffee prices around the world was "at least partly" caused by extreme weather in coffee-growing regions, with US tariffs on imports from Brazil, however, also playing a role.Why coffee is healthier than you thinkTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Edited by: Roshni Majumdar