Climate change adds 47 extra days of harmful heat yearly to coffee-growing regions, threatening harvests, quality and consumer prices.

PARIS: The world’s primary coffee-growing regions are enduring significantly more days of extreme heat each year due to climate change. This trend directly threatens harvests and contributes to rising consumer prices, according to new scientific analysis.

Independent research group Climate Central found an average of 47 additional harmful heat days per year across 25 major producing nations between 2021 and 2025. These countries represent nearly all global coffee production.

The top five suppliers – Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Ethiopia and Indonesia – fared worse, averaging 57 extra days above a critical 30°C threshold. Together, these nations provide 75% of the world’s coffee.

“Climate change is coming for our coffee,” said Kristina Dahl, Climate Central’s vice president for science. She stated that extreme heat harms plants, reduces yields and affects bean quality.

Dahl warned these impacts will eventually affect consumers through the cost and quality of their daily brew. The analysis indicates temperatures above 30°C are extremely harmful to arabica plants and suboptimal for robusta varieties.

These two species produce the vast majority of global coffee supply. Cultivation requires specific optimal temperatures and rainfall to thrive successfully.

Climate Central’s method compared current reality to a modelled world without carbon pollution. This revealed the number of hot days directly added by human-driven climate change.

The group noted that while US tariffs contributed to recent price hikes, extreme weather in growing regions is at least partly to blame. Brazil alone supplies one-third of all coffee consumed in the United States.

The last three years have been the hottest on record globally, according to climate monitoring agencies. This ongoing warming intensifies pressure on the sensitive coffee agriculture sector.

 The Sun Malaysia