London CNN —
Extreme weather caused by climate change is driving up the prices of basic food products worldwide and posing wider risks to society, a new study has found.
The cost of a wide range of goods – from vegetables in California to coffee in Brazil – saw dramatic spikes in recent years due to weather conditions that were “so extreme they exceeded all historical precedent prior to 2020,” according to the study led by Maximillian Kotz of the Barcelona Supercomputer Center.
Previous studies have examined how high temperatures have affected the cost of food produce in the long term, by impacting yields and hitting supply chains. The new research, published Monday, looked at 16 examples across 18 countries around the world where prices spiked in the short term as a result of e