Rising summer heat and wildfires are forcing European olive trees to drop their fruit early.

Olive trees are tough, but extreme heat waves and severe droughts are pushing them to their limits. In places like Spain, Italy, and Greece, record-high temperatures and wildfires are drying out the soil. To survive this intense heat, the trees shed their olives before they can be harvested. This means there is far less fruit left to make oil. With fewer olives on the branches, prices in the shops naturally start to climb again.