90% of some of the world’s traditional wine regions could be gone in decades. It’s part of a larger problem.
Your favorite wines may soon cease to exist. Some of the world’s traditional wine regions, from Europe to Southern California, are at risk of almost completely disappearing within decades, researchers found, as the conditions necessary to produce their grapes grow more unfruitful due to climate change.
As humans continue to burn fossil fuels, the planet is getting warmer. And those increasing temperatures — which impact everything from the water cycle to locations where people can safely live — are fueling more extreme weather. In a new literature review published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment on Tuesday, scientists found that climate change’s impact in the coastal and lowland regions of Spain, Italy, Greece and Southern California — all home to some of the world’s most traditional wine producers — is significant.
By the end of the century — just 76 years — they found roughly 90% of these specific regions “could be at risk of disappearing.” Specifically, they found that excessive drought and more frequent heat waves fueled by climate change are responsible for the threat. An area’s temperature, precipitation, humidity, radiation and carbon dioxide levels are also vital components of wine production, and are all altered by climate change.
overall wine quality.
For example, climate factors affect the levels of pH, alcohol content and acidity, researchers found. While the alcohol and pH levels are increasing in wines, the acidity levels are decreasing, which makes the microbiology within the beverage more unstable. That can lead to “increased risk of microbiological spoilage,” researchers said, and lead to an “overripe and/or cooked fruit aroma.”
Scientists have warned that current global efforts to slow global warming are not enough. Last year was the warmest on record, and the beginning of 2024 has already seen record-breaking heat as well as weather extremes ranging from unusually large blizzards to out-of-season warmth.
Already, global temperatures are 1.35 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average overall. And the world just recently surpassed for the first time 12 consecutive months where the global average was 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average — a fact that doesn’t mean we’ve permanently crossed the critical 2-degree Celsius threshold that experts warn could have disastrous implications, but means we are well on the way there.
“One thing is certain,” researchers say in the end of their analysis, “climate change will drive major changes in global wine production in the near future. Having the flexibility to adapt to these changes will be essential.”
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Source: cbsnews.com