A study carried out by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reveals that chocolate could disappear by 2050. Climate change could be the cause of this, as the cacao trees in cacao-producing countries die due to rises in temperature.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the American agency which monitors and tests the oceans and the atmosphere, has revealed that chocolate is in danger of extinction. It cites a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which claims that temperatures could rise by 2.1°C in the next thirty years in cacao-producing countries. This increase in temperature would cause the water in tropical areas to evaporate without falling as rain. Groundwater would begin to decrease and this could harm the growth of cocoa beans. This would bring drought, it would no longer rain and the trees would die, including the cacao tree. These are the trees where cocoa beans grow, the raw material used to make chocolate. Chocolate would ultimately disappear.
Cacao trees only grow in areas where the temperature is stable, very humid and where rain is abundant. They need a tropical forest climate and an environment which is sheltered from wind in order to grow and develop. The soil in which they are planted must also be nitrogen-rich. Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Indonesia are the largest chocolate-producing countries in the world. They are affected by the issue of climate change. Cacao plantation is vital to them and their financial well-being.
