Before the Easter Bunny stocks up to fill baskets on March 31, he may want to note the uptick in prices for chocolate egg candies. While grocery costs have been increasing for many items, the increase in cost of chocolate is linked to climate change, experts say.

Extreme heat in West Africa has impacted cocoa crops, creating a decline in yields. Researchers with World Weather Attribution said the extreme heat, which led to temperatures being 4 degrees Celsius higher in February, was made 10 times more likely because of human-caused climate change. 

The heat led to drought, which local farmers said weakened the cacao trees. The crops were already vulnerable because of heavy rainfall from late 2023, The Guardian reported.

As a result, some popular Easter egg-shaped chocolates have increased in price by 50%, BBC reported. Further, cocoa prices have risen to $8,500 per metric ton this week, with just over one week until the holiday. In mid-March 2024, cocoa prices had already risen by more than double compared to last year, Reuters reported.

“Farmers in West Africa who grow the main ingredient of the Easter eggs many of us are looking forward to are struggling in the face of both extreme heat and rainfall,” said Amber Sawyer, energy and climate analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) in the UK, as reported by The Guardian. “Wealthy nations like the UK can provide support to developing countries [but] ultimately we have to reach net zero emissions. There are limits to the conditions in which crops can grow.”

The study by World Weather Attribution also revealed similar heat waves could happen in West Africa about every two years without greater action to curb fossil fuel-related emissions. Without climate change, the researchers noted this type of extreme heat would be a once-in-100-years event in West Africa.

The drought and extreme heat doesn’t just threaten crops, however. The study highlighted that a heat wave can be a “silent killer” that harms local populations, particularly because of a lack of investment to help countries become more resilient to extreme heat.

“Major investment is needed in Africa to build resilience to dangerous heat. The UN has estimated that the cost of adaptation for developing countries is between US$215-$387 billion per year this decade,” World Weather Attribution said in the study. “However, rich countries haven’t yet met the promises they have made to help developing countries become more resilient to the growing risks of climate change. In addition, these commitments fall drastically short of the finance required — in 2021, the global community spent just US$21 billion to help developing countries adapt to climate change.”

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