UK potatoes, South Korean cabbage and west African cocoa are just some of the foods that became markedly more expensive after extreme weather events in recent years, according to new research.
The study, published in Environmental Research Letters, analyses 16 examples of food price rises across the world that followed periods of extreme heat, drought or rainfall over 2022-24.
A “striking” example, according to the lead author, is the wide-ranging price impact following a 2024 heatwave in Asia, which saw cost increases from onions in India to rice in Japan.
Soaring food prices have been a major concern for consumers around the world since around 2021, with prices rising due to extreme weather fuelled by climate change, higher production costs and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – among other factors.
The new findings act as a “stark reminder” of the “significant pressure” climate change is already having on crops, a researcher not involved in the study says