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From the loss of wildlife to rising sea levels, we're all well aware of the problems that climate change could cause.
But while it may seem like such issues won't affect most of us directly，it looks like future generations could grow up without something that many of us now take for granted: chocolate.
According to an essay published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, changes to the climate in the regions that produce cacao - the plant from which chocolate is produced - may mean that it will soon become extinct.
Most of the world's cacao grows in countries close to the equator，with over half of it growing in the African nations of Ghana and Ivory Coast.
It's predicted that by 2050, climate change will have accelerated the rate at which temperatures in these countries rise, making it extremely difficult for cacao to grow there.
The problem doesn't lie in increased heat, however，but in lower humidity (湿度)，as it's believed that rainfall will stay at the same level if the temperature rises.
“In other words, as higher temperatures squeeze more water out of soil and plants, it's unlikely that rainfall will increase enough to offset the moisture (含水量) loss,” Michon Scott, the essay's author, wrote.
To help fight this problem, researchers from Berkeley University in the US are working on changing the DNA of cacao plants to allow them to survive in dryer conditions by using gene editing technology, according to US News.
In the meantime, US company Mars, one of the world's biggest manufacturers of chocolate products, announced in January that it would spend $1 billion to help reduce the effects of climate change.
“This is a world issue, and it requires everyone to work together,” Mars spokesperson Barry Parkin told Business Insider.
The message here is that if we all do our part, we may be able to prevent some of the worst impacts of climate change. Or if we're unlucky, chocolate will become a thing of the past.
