The world's chocolate supply relies on a narrow belt of tropical rainforest

Cocoa production relies almost entirely on a specific tropical environment requiring 2,000 to 2,500 mm of annual rainfall and temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius. Because the crop has a lengthy five-to-six-month pod cycle, even brief droughts or heatwaves can trigger devastating fungal outbreaks. In recent years, these climate pressures have slashed harvests in West Africa by as much as 30 percent.