Earth’s Suitability For Growing Coffee Will ‘Drastically Decrease’ By 2050, Study Says

Earth’s Suitability For Growing Coffee Will ‘Drastically Decrease’ By 2050, Study Says

Share to Linkedin Climate change will make the planet "drastically" less suitable for growing coffee by 2050, though some areas—including the U. S.—are expected to become more suitable as minimum winter temperatures rise, according to a study published Wednesday by PLOS One. A woman drinks from a coffee at a Starbucks in central London on April 25, 2006. Areas highly suitable for coffee growing are expected to shrink by 54% to 60%, moderately suitable areas by 31% to 41% and marginally suitable areas by 5% to 13%, depending on the amount of greenhouse gas produced in coming years, according to researchers affiliated with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences Institute of Natural Resource Sciences. The most productive coffee-growing regions in Central and South America, Central and West Africa, India and Southeast Asia are expected to become significantly less suitable for the crop, according to the study. Some regions just north or south of productive coffee-growing areas are expected to become more suitable due to warming temperatures, including the U. S., Argentina, Chile, China, East Africa, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Southern Brazil and Uruguay, researchers found. Lead study author Roman Grüter warned coffee growers operating in marginal areas that, while