Mango Industry Sizzles In An Unexpected Place: Sicily
Italian farmers used to growing lemons and pears are increasingly turning to tropical fruits like mango.
The change is driven by warmer temperatures and a higher sales price, according to Pietro Cuccio, the farmer who takes credit for pioneering mango growing on Sicily 20 years ago.
Mangos don't do well in cold weather, especially as temperatures dip toward freezing.
"However, they grow well in sunny and very hot spring times and summers," Cuccio told Green European Journal. "Let's say that the current temperatures are particularly favorable, and it is likely that they will be increasingly so."
The Italian southern island has seen a series of dangerous summer heat waves in recent years, forcing tourists inside and prompting red alert heat warnings.
The highest temperature ever recorded in continental Europe as a whole was nearly 120 degrees Fahrenheit on Aug. 11, 2021, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
That record was set in Sicily.
From weather.com meteorologist Jennifer Gray:
Climate change is having a huge impact on agriculture. As temperatures, growing seasons and precipitation patterns change, farmers are forced to make a decision. Many times, moving to a different location to plant their crops in a more conducive environment isn't an option, so they are opting to plant something else.
This could lead to a huge shift from where we have traditionally seen certain foods grown, to a completely new landscape.
Climate change is all about adapting, in every aspect – including farming.
The United States imported more than $571 million worth of fresh mangos in 2023, according to the National Mango Board. The retail value was more than $1.5 billion.
Those numbers rose steadily over the past six years as mangos became a popular ingredient in smoothies and salads, and as dried snacks.
Most mangos in the U.S. come from Mexico, but crops there have taken a hit recently due to economic factors and extreme weather.
The price of fresh mangos in the U.S. fluctuates widely and in general hasn't showna dramatic increase, according to numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
But any change in growing patterns can have an impact, and a growing body of research links climate changeto rising food prices.
Weather.com senior content writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.
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