Agriculture

Report: Climate Extremes Driving Global Food Price Surges

Published JUL 21 2025

Story

Above: A price tag for beets lies on a vegetable stall at a weekly market. Image credit: Oliver Berg/picture alliance via Getty Images

The Facts

According to a report from a team that includes the UK's Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, the European Central Bank, the Food Foundation, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, extreme weather events have led to food price increases in 18 countries between 2022 and 2024.
Bloomberg.com
Al Jazeera
guardian
Australian lettuce prices spiked 300% following record-breaking floods in early 2022, forcing KFC to substitute cabbage in burgers, while European olive oil prices jumped 50% after prolonged droughts in southern Spain during 2022-2023.
www.ft.com
guardian
Bloomberg.com
Asian heat waves in 2024 led to widespread price increases, including 70% for South Korean cabbage, 48% for Japanese rice, 89% for Indian onions, and 30% for Chinese vegetables, between June and September.
매일경제
www.ft.com
Global cocoa prices surged 280% in April 2024, following temperatures of up to 50°C in Ghana and Ivory Coast — where 60% of the world's cocoa is produced — and subsequently affected chocolate prices worldwide.
Carbon Brief
Al Jazeera
Climate change added £361 to the average British household's food bills across 2022-2023, with the UK experiencing its third-worst arable harvest on record, reportedly made worse by extreme rainfall attributed to climate change.
Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit
Unb.Com.Bd
Bloomberg.com
Food price shocks typically occur within one to two months after extreme weather events. However, researchers warned that these patterns will intensify as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and agricultural systems struggle to adapt.
The Straits Times
Bloomberg.com

Sources Split

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The Spin

Climate-concerned narrative

Our children will inherit empty plates and crushing grocery bills unless we act now. Climate change isn't just melting glaciers — it's destroying harvests, starving communities, and making basic nutrition a luxury. Every scorching summer, every failed crop, every family forced to choose between rent and food screams the same truth: Tomorrow's crisis is today's reality.

University of Salford

www.ft.com

Climate-skeptic narrative

Before blaming climate change for every grocery receipt, it's important to remember the real culprits: wars shutting down grain exports, bird flu killing millions of chickens, fertilizer prices tripling, and energy costs soaring. Yes, weather matters — but oversimplifying complex food systems into climate panic helps no one. Families need solutions, not scapegoats.

Carbon Brief