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A global study finds climate change is raising food prices through extreme weather. Photo credit: Ground Report
If you're wondering why onions, potatoes, or your morning cup of tea are suddenly more expensive, it's not just inflation or seasonal shortages. A new international study shows that climate change is playing a direct role in raising food prices across the globe, including in India.
The research, led by Maximilian Kotz of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, found that extreme weather events have made essential foods more costly in at least 18 countries. From 2022 to 2024, heatwaves, floods, and droughts damaged crops and cut supply, forcing prices up.
“Until we get to net zero emissions, extreme weather will only get worse,” Kotz said. “But it’s already damaging crops and pushing up the price of food all over the world.”
India’s Heatwave and Its Impact
In May 2024, a brutal heatwave swept across large parts of India. Temperatures rose 1.5°C above average. The result: onion and potato prices jumped by more than 80%.
These vegetables are daily staples for millions of families. Their sudden price hike hit poor households hardest.
"When such basic foods become unaffordable, it directly affects what people eat every day," said Dr. Kavita Sharma, a public health expert based in Delhi.
Not Just India
The same pattern is unfolding around the world. The report details how climate events caused food price spikes in countries as varied as South Korea, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.
In South Korea, cabbage prices rose 70% after the hottest summer on record. In Japan, rice prices climbed 48% following the August 2024 heatwave. Brazil saw coffee prices jump 55% after a 2023 drought. In Ghana and Ivory Coast, cocoa prices soared 280% due to early 2024 heatwaves.
In Australia, floods in 2022 made lettuce prices shoot up by 300%. That flood became the biggest insurance claim event in the country’s history.
Ethiopia experienced a 40% rise in food prices after a drought scientists said was “100 times more likely” due to climate change. The drought was the worst in 40 years.
In the U.K., potato prices rose 22% in just one month, between January and February 2024, after extreme rainfall. Scientists linked this directly to climate change.
“Climate change added £360 to the average U.K. household food bill across 2022 and 2023,” said Amber Sawyer from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.
Nutritious food already costs twice as much as less nutritious options, according to the Food Foundation. When prices rise, poor families often drop fresh fruits and vegetables from their diets.
That leads to a rise in malnutrition among children. Adults face greater risks of heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. “There’s also a mental health cost,” said Dr. Sharma. “Food insecurity creates stress and anxiety. It affects families’ well-being in more ways than one.”
Why This Matters for India and South Asia
India is already battling hunger, undernutrition, and a large gap in health access. Any added stress on food prices makes this crisis worse.
"We’re dealing with two emergencies at once, a climate crisis and a public health emergency," said Raj Patel, a research professor at the University of Texas. “Food price inflation is always political.” Patel points to past protests around the world, from Mozambique to the Middle East, where rising food prices sparked unrest.
Governments under the UN climate framework have agreed to reduce emissions by just 2.6% between 2019 and 2030. Scientists say that’s nowhere near enough to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
This week, world leaders will gather at the UN Food Systems Summit in Addis Ababa, hosted by Ethiopia and Italy. Both countries are among those hit by food price spikes due to climate-related crop failures.
The summit will focus on threats to the global food system. Experts say it's time to treat food security as a climate issue. Kotz, the study's lead author, puts it simply, “These impacts will fall right on your plate.”
People are already feeling it. In surveys, rising food prices ranked as the second most noticeable climate effect in everyday life, right after extreme heat.
What used to be abstract forecasts are now real problems in your kitchen. The heat is burning crops. The floods are drowning fields. And your grocery bill reflects it. So the question now isn’t whether climate change affects food, it’s what we’re willing to do about it. Because if farmers can’t grow what we eat, then the cost won’t just be in rupees or dollars. It’ll be in health, stability, and lives.
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