Climate Change is Heating Up West Africa's Cocoa Belt

Climate Central analysis shows that human-caused climate change significantly increased the number of days with maximum temperatures exceeding 90°F in West Africa's cocoa belt from 2015 to 2024. The most severe impacts occurred in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, where climate change added approximately 40 days of growth-limiting heat per year. These temperature extremes, combined with shifting rainfall patterns and pests, threaten global cocoa supplies, increase chocolate prices, and endanger the health and livelihoods of small-scale farmers.

• Between 2015 and 2024, human-caused climate change increased the frequency of daily maximum temperatures above the optimal growth range for cacao (90°F) across West Africa. In Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, which produce over half of the world's cocoa, climate change added an average of about 40 days per year above this threshold.
• Other West African cocoa producers also saw increases in heat-limiting days due to climate change, with Cameroon averaging 18 additional days and Nigeria averaging 14 additional days per year.
• The analysis of 44 cacao-growing regions revealed that 28 of them experienced at least six additional weeks of heat above 90°F annually because of human-induced climate change.
• Beyond temperature, cocoa production is threatened by inconsistent rainfall patterns, illegal mining, smuggling, and the cacao swollen shoot virus spread by mealybugs. These factors contributed to a 136% surge in cocoa prices between July 2022 and February 2024.
• Extreme heat poses direct health risks to cocoa farmworkers, many of whom are children or older adults earning less than $1 equivalent per day, and compounds the dangers of physically demanding work and chemical exposure.

APA

Climate Central (2025). Climate Change is Heating Up West Africa's Cocoa Belt. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/climate-and-cocoa-2025

Chicago

Climate Central. Climate Change is Heating Up West Africa's Cocoa Belt. 2025. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/climate-and-cocoa-2025.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Central |title=Climate Change is Heating Up West Africa's Cocoa Belt |date=12 February 2025 |url=https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/climate-and-cocoa-2025 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatecentral2025climate, author = {{Climate Central}}, title = {{Climate Change is Heating Up West Africa's Cocoa Belt}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2025}, month = feb, url = {https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/climate-and-cocoa-2025}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }