Climate change affecting coffee crop: Study

Kochi: Climate change is making coffee harder to produce and more expensive to buy, according to an analysis by Climate Central, a nonprofit news organization that analyzes and reports on climate science.Extreme weather in global coffee-growing regions likely contributed to coffee price spikes in recent years, the study said. More heat affected world's coffee-growing regions during 2021-2025, potentially affecting the quality and quantity of recent harvests.As per the data, which analysed 25 coffee-growing countries and their states, all experienced temperatures that harmed coffee during the past five years.Kerala, which is the second-largest coffee producer in the country, has also been affected. According to data analysed in last five years, extreme weather days were observed on 157 days annually, affecting the coffee crop. Of this, 65 days have been accounted as being triggered by climate change due to temperatures crossing the threshold 30Celcius, thus harming coffee production.The top five coffee-growing countries, responsible for 75% of world's supply, experienced, on average, 57 extra days of coffee-harming heat annually due to climate change, as per the study."In Wayanad, we saw coffee being affected by sudden rains and high temperatures. After winter season, we would get one or two days of rainfall, triggering flowering. Suddenly, there would be no rain for the next couple of months. Or there would be rainfall in the immediate days, leading to double flowering and affecting the coffee beans. Sudden rainfall triggers an increase in vegetation and is leading to a rise in pests," said C K Vishnudas, director, Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology, Wayanad.Coffee plantations in Kerala are primarily in Wayanad, Idukki and Nelliyampathy, with Robusta being the dominant variety and requiring temperatures of 20-30C. Karnataka has the highest production, with an estimated 280,275 metric tonnes (MT) in 2025-26, while Kerala has an estimated 85,150MT and Tamil Nadu 20,315MT.Climate Central analysed daily temperatures during the past five years (2021-2025) to understand how frequently climate change is pushing temperatures past the coffee-harming heat threshold of 30C (86F) in 25 countries across the bean belt.Temperatures beyond 30C are extremely harmful for growing Arabica coffee plants and suboptimal for growing Robusta variety. Beans from these two plant species make up the vast majority of global coffee supply.