Rising temperatures are reducing the range of wild arabica plants, the most popular bean for drinkers. From Brazil to Ethiopia and Kenya, growers are moving uphill and deploying new technologies to maintain yields.
Within the next seven decades, the places arabica can grow naturally is likely to fall by at least 50%, scientists at Britain's Royal Botanical Gardens said in a report.
Today's abundance of beans, which has kept a lid on prices in the world's coffee shops, could reverse as the shift in the climate reduces the potential size of the crop in the years ahead.
Arabica beans are the most common source of coffee worldwide, thriving in cool regions with distinct rainy and dry seasons.
They need year round temperatures of 150 to 240 Celsius, according to the Coffee Research Institute.
Too cold and they suffer from frost. Too warm and the quality of the coffee declines. The taste of the beans depends on crisp nights.
Yet farmers are noticing the plant's range is shifting because of rising temperatures. It has been too warm from September through November when arabica plants flower.
The result: flowers fall off more frequently, cutting the yield per tree.
The biggest risk is to the wild version of arabica plants, which contain the genetic storehouse needed to produce new flavours and more robust plants.
Scientists said the natural range of those plants is narrowing for three reasons — climate change, fungus and deforestation.
Their concern is that more than half of all wild coffee species may be extinct by 2088.
Wild arabica, which when grown commercially is the most widely traded coffee in the world, has been placed on an endangered list.
Jan 16, 2019
Antarctica losing ice 6 times faster than in 1980s
Antarctica is melting more than six times faster than it did in the 1980s, a new study has revealed.
Scientists used aerial photographs, satellite measurements and computer models to track how fast the southern-most continent has been melting since 1979 in 176 individual basins.
They found the ice loss to be accelerating dramatically - a key indicator of human-caused climate change.
Since 2009, Antarctica has lost almost 278 billion tonnes (252 billion metric tonnes) of ice per year, the new study found. In the 1980s, it was losing 44 billion tonnes (40 billion metric tons) a year.
The recent melting rate is 15% higher than what a study found last year.
Oz state to pump oxygen into rivers as fish die
An Australian state government announced plans to mechanically pump oxygen into lakes and rivers after hundreds of thousands of fish died in heatwave conditions.
Up to a million dead fish were found floating last week in the Darling river in western New South Wales state and the state government announced that 1,800 more rotting fish had since been found in Lake Hume.
16 battery-powered aerators had been bought and would be placed in drought affected waterways.
Experts blame heatwave conditions across much of Australia, drought and algal blooms for starving waterways of oxygen.
Jan 15, 2019
Blackbuck habitat discovered in Greater Noida
A protected antelope species habitat with about 150 to 200 blackbucks, of which there was no official record, has been found in Gautam Budh Nagar district's Rabupura village, according to the state forest department.
This new habitat, which is around 70 km from Delhi in the National Capital Region (NCR), was discovered after residents reported two poached blackbucks in October and November.
These blackbucks are in addition to the 122 recorded at 10 spots across the district by the last forest department census in 2011.
Jan 12, 2019
Clean Air Plan
Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr Harsh Vardhan launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) aiming to reduce toxic particulate matter by 2024, taking 2017 as the base year.
The Environment Ministry has announced a budget of Rs 300 crore for two years to tackle air pollution across 102 cities, identified by the Central Pollution Control Board.
Jan 10, 2019
NDMC to Rent Out Electric Scooters
After the success of smart bikes, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) plans to extend the rental concept to e-scooters for last mile connectivity in its area by end of September.
The project will be implemented in two phases in NDMC's jurisdiction. In the first phase, 500 e-scooters will be procured and provided on rent at 50 stations while the remaining 500 will be made available in second phase by December 2019.
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