News

STUDY: Climate change to cause global beer shortage

A new study looks at one of the more obscure potential impacts of climate change-- beer.

It found climate change will cause a beer shortage.

That's because one of beer's main ingredients, barley, is sensitive to extreme drought and heat.

The study found global warming will lead to substantial decreases in barley crop yields, causing beer shortages and a sharp rise in prices.

It found during the most severe climate events, global beer consumption would decline on average by 16 percent, while beer prices around the world would double.

One of the study's authors says the aim of the study is not to encourage people to drink more beer today, but to show that climate change will impact your quality of life.

In the United States, two-thirds of the barley crop is used to make beer.

Beer is just the latest of life's little pleasures that researchers say could be adversely affected by climate change, including chocolate, coffee and wine.

TRENDING NOW:

The study was published Monday in the journal Nature Plants.

The study follows a recent United Nations report that warned "unprecedented changes" need to be made to combat global warming.

It found the world only has about 10 years left to get climate change under control.