Dear EarthTalk:

What is the link between climate-fueled weather extremes and the skyrocketing cost of many foods?

M.B., via email

Over the past five years, food prices have increased drastically across the globe. The U.S. alone has seen a 35 percent increase in food costs since 2020. There are many reasons for this, including conflict, greater demand and COVID. Climate-fueled weather extremes have also increased food costs. As climate disasters increase, food systems, especially those serving the poor, are left vulnerable. Many food price spikes across over 18 countries can also be linked to weather disasters like heatwaves and floods. And recent droughts have also caused the price of crop staples to increase worldwide.

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In April 2024, California and Arizona underwent an 80 percent increase in vegetable prices due to the West African heatwave. In Europe, the price of olive oil increased by 50 percent after extensive droughts. In South Korea, cabbage rose 70 percent following an earlier heatwave. In Mexico, vegetables and fruits spiked almost 20 percent after some of the most severe droughts it faced in the past decade. From Japan to Ghana and the Ivory Coast, food prices are on the rise everywhere due to the rapidly warming planet.

The surge in food prices poses a significant threat to the health of low-income communities in the Global South and beyond. Fast food tends to cost less money, time and effort to consume than healthy produce. In turn, it becomes an attractive option for families that can no longer afford the rising prices of fruits, vegetables, and other healthier food groups. Over time, this lack of a healthy diet can contribute to health complications like malnutrition, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Moreover, as political and social upheavals dominate world affairs, experts say food prices will be affected. Tim Benton, a professor of population ecology at the University of Leeds in England, told CNN in 2025 that “Shortfalls in supply inevitably impact on markets, driving up prices for those people who buy the food. Sadly, this impact on food prices is exacerbated by a tenser, more contested world, where global trade is already under stress from conflict or trade disputes.”

Weather and climate shocks are only increasing; researchers calculate that they will cause food prices to increase by .3 percentage points annually in the next 10 years. The rise in inflation serves as a wake-up call to the necessity of sustainably produced food and limiting climate stressors.

CONTACT

• Extreme weather is fueling higher food prices around the world, ehn.org/extreme-weather-is-fueling-higher-food-prices-around-the-world.

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