Climate Change In California Is Threatening The World’s Top Almond Producer

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California’s deepening drought threatens its $6 billion almond industry, which produces about 80% of the world’s almonds.

Terry Chea/AP

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Terry Chea/AP

The Salt
How Almonds Became A Scapegoat For California’s Drought

«We may have to sacrifice one of them at the end of the year if we feel that we don’t have enough water next year, said Del Bosque, who also grows melons, cherries and asparagus. «That means that our huge investment that we put in these trees is gone.

A historic drought across the U.S. West is taking a heavy toll on California’s $6 billion almond industry, which produces roughly 80% of the world’s almonds. More growers are expected to abandon their orchards as water becomes scarce and expensive.

It’s a sharp reversal for the almond’s relentless expansion in California’s agricultural Central Valley, whose dry Mediterranean-like climate and reliable irrigation system made it the perfect location to grow the increasingly popular nut.

Almond orchards are thirsty permanent crops that need water year-round, clashing with a worsening drought and intensifying heat waves tied to climate change. Scientists say climate change has made the American West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will keep making weather more extreme.

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Employees inspect almonds in the processing facility at Steward & Jasper Orchards in Newman, Calif.

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Terry Chea/AP

The Salt
What Does ‘Raw’ Mean? When It Comes To Almonds, You Might Be Surprised

Almonds are California’s top agricultural export. The industry ships about 70% of its almonds overseas, fueled by strong demand in India, East Asia and Europe, according to the board.

As almond prices rose during a previous drought that California declared from 2012 to 2016, farmers and investors planted hundreds of square miles of new orchards in areas that lack reliable water supplies.

«All of this increase in almonds and this increase in water demand, it’s been done at a time when there’s virtually no increase in water supply, said David Goldhamer, a water management specialist at the University of California, Davis. «The water embodied in the production of those almonds is being exported out of this country.

The almond boom has run into the second major drought that California has declared in a decade. The U.S. Drought Monitor reported that 88% of the state was in «extreme drought as of last week, with the Central Valley facing the worst conditions.

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An abandoned almond orchard in Newman, Calif.

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Terry Chea/AP

The Salt
How Almonds Went From Deadly To Delicious

As the drought drains reservoirs and Gov. Gavin Newsom calls on residents to voluntarily reduce water use by 15%, critics say the thirsty crop isn’t sustainable at current levels in California.

«If we’re conserving in the cities so that they can grow more almonds, it’s simply not fair because it’s not benefiting the majority of Californians, said Tom Stokely, a board member for the California Water Impact Network, a nonprofit group that advocates for sustainable water use.

Stokely believes the state should ban permanent crops like almond orchards in areas that don’t have adequate water supplies.

«With the climate change, the drought, the heat waves we’re having, something’s going to change very quickly or we’re going to literally see our state collapse, Stokely said. «We need to do something about it.