Climate change has driven increases in food prices across the globe over the last three years, as droughts and other extreme weather events have become increasingly common.

A study published on July 21 by the Barcelona Supercomputer Center (BSC) pulled from 16 examples between 2022 and 2024 in 18 countries, where extreme heat, drought conditions or heavy rainfall — many of which exceeded historical precedents — drove short-term spikes in food prices. That included a 300% increase in global cocoa prices over just two months in April 2024, caused by a heatwave in Ghana and the Ivory Coast that scientists said was made 40 degrees hotter by climate change. 

A separate 2024 heatwave in India — which led to an 80% jump in onion and potato prices — was described by scientists at the time as "a largely unique event," made at least 34 degrees hotter by climate change. In Ethiopia, food prices jumped by 40% in March 2023, following the worst drought the Horn of Africa had seen in 40 years. 

"Until we get to net-zero emissions, extreme weather will only get worse, and it's already damaging crops and pushing up the price of food all over the world," said Dr. Maximillian Kotz, the study's lead author and a researcher for Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

Read More: Climate Change Threatens the Future of Food Supply Chains

The BSC's study also tracked an 80% year-over-year increase in vegetable prices in California and Arizona in November 2022, after hot summer weather and water shortages devastated farms in the Western United States. In January 2024, the price of olive oil in Europe also rose by 50% following a prolonged drought in Italy and Spain that spanned 2022 and 2023.

As Kotz noted, rising prices for fruits and vegetables predominantly impact lower income households, who are more likely to cut back on nutritious foods during a budget crunch in favor of cheaper, less healthy options. That puts those households at risk for a range of health impacts, including malnutrition, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and a number of cancers.

"There is also a growing body of evidence connecting food insecurity and poor diets with mental health outcomes," the BSC added.