"Food prices spike due to heat, drought and heavy precipitation" (Environmental Research / study)

"Among the widespread impacts of exceptional heat, rising food prices are beginning to play a prominent role in public perception, now the second most frequently cited impact of climate change experienced globally, following only extreme heat itself", introduce the authors of a study published in the latest Environmental Research issue, "Climate extremes, food price spikes, and their wider societal risks", on 21/07/2025.

In their study, they document recent examples, from 2022 to 2024, of the rising food prices of specific goods, in response to heat, drought and heavy precipitation extremes. "Econometric analysis confirms that abnormally high temperatures directly cause higher food prices, as impacts on agricultural production translate into supply shortages and food price inflation", they highlight.

In Europe, goods that were most affected by climate conditions in 2024 were olive oil prices (+50% in January 2024, after 2022-2023 droughts in Italy and Spain) and potato prices (+22% in January-February 2024 after a wet winter in the UK).

Globally, food products that were most affected…