Slipping away: bananas under threat from climate crisis as extreme weather ruins crops

The climate crisis is threatening the future of the world's most popular fruit, as almost two-thirds of banana-growing areas in Latin America and the Caribbean may no longer be suitable for growing the fruit by 2080, research has found.

- Nina Lakhani

Rising temperatures, extreme weather and climate-related pests are pummelling banana-growing countries such as Guatemala, Costa Rica and Colombia, reducing yields and devastating rural communities across the region, according to Christian Aid's report Going Bananas: How Climate Change Threatens the World's Favourite Fruit.

Bananas are the world's most consumed fruit and the fourth most important food crop globally, after wheat, rice and maize. About 80% of bananas grown globally are for local consumption, and more than 400 million people rely on the fruit for 15% to 27% of their daily calories.

The average Briton eats about 10kg of bananas a year, equivalent to about 100 per person.

An estimated 80% of banana exports that supply supermarkets around the world come from Latin America and the Caribbean - one of the regions most vulnerable to extreme weather and slow-onset climate disasters.