Aug 12, 2026
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Add us on GoogleParmigiano Reggiano can only be made authentically in a handful of provinces in Northern Italy by 300 or so local producers. The exclusivity gives these wheels of cheese a certain prestige, but also makes the industry very susceptible to regional issues.
The heat wave that set record-high temperatures across Europe last week, pushing some areas above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), has brought into focus the looming threat that climate change poses against the $5.15 billion industry and the cheese-backed bank that keeps its wheels spinning.
How heat affects the parmesan industry
Making parmesan requires three main ingredients: milk, rennet and salt. And lots of time. Parmigiano Reggiano is legally required to age for a minimum of 12 months, but most wheels are aged even longer to develop their flavor and texture.
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However, farmers often can’t wait that long without seeing income. To bridge this gap, producers bring their wheels of cheese to Credito Emiliano, an Italian bank based in Reggio Emilia, which gives out low-interest loans secured against the value of the cheese. According to CNN, producers generally receive 60% to 80% of a wheel’s value upfront.
Also known as Credem, the bank can also store the collateral cheese as it ages. This Fort Knox for cheese handles roughly 2.3 million wheels each year, Giancarlo Ravanetti, the big cheese at Credem’s cheese warehouse, tells CNN. Holding over 500,000 wheels at a time, the cheese within the bank is estimated to be worth 325 million euros ($382 million).
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Keeping all this cheese in a temperature- and moisture-controlled environment takes a great deal of energy, which rose 30% daily during the heat waves, Ravanetti tells Reuters.
“To make our facilities as energy-efficient as possible, we have improved our cooling systems and boilers, upgraded building insulation and increased renewable energy production,” he said.
The extreme summer heat throughout Europe also threatens parmesan earlier in its production cycle, overheating dairy cows and causing them to lie down more and eat less. According to the University of Chicago, under these conditions, cows produce up to 10% less milk.
“Extreme heat impacts milk’s quality and quantity,” Nicola Bertinelli, president of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium, tells Reuters.
Extreme heat also interferes with the grass and hay growth, the two primary food sources for the dairy cows in the region. “If it doesn’t rain, grass doesn’t grow, hay cannot be produced and it’s impossible to obtain the milk needed to make the cheese,” Bertinelli says.
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European agriculture struggles as another heat wave arrives
Another heat wave is set to hit some European countries, particularly the U.K. and France, the fifth of the season. However, much of Europe’s agricultural industry, like the parmesan industry, is still processing the previous heat wave in early August.
Fires have burned through olive groves in Greece, Italy, and Portugal, and the extreme heat has plagued the groves that haven’t burned down, increasing pests, disease and heavy storms that affect crop yields.
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Sarah Vachon, founder of the Citizens of Soil olive oil brand, told the Guardian, “Unless the weather is under control soon, we should expect pricing to rise in the autumn since there will be less edible fruit to make olive oil from.”
Meanwhile, the heat wave has forced grape vineyards across Europe into an early harvest. Sparkling wine makers in Italy harvested grapes 10 days earlier than usual, while vineyard workers in Catalonia are beating the heat by picking grapes before dawn in the region’s earliest grape harvest ever.
And across Europe, grain farmers lost an estimated two billion euros in revenue as a result of a heat wave in June, according to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a non-profit research organization. European harvest forecasts are down nine million tonnes, more than the forecasted grain production of Austria, Ireland and the Netherlands combined.
This is indicative of the relationship between agricultural yields and the climate, and could point to a future where the planet cannot create enough calories for the people who live on it. According to a study published in Nature, daily global calorie production decreases by 120 calories per person for every degree Celsius increase in the global surface temperature.
“If the climate warms by 3 degrees, that’s basically like everyone on the planet giving up breakfast,” study co-author Solomon Hsiang told the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. The study estimates that if emissions go unchecked, calorie production could drop 24% by the year 2100.
“This would result in higher food prices, which in rich countries would feel like inflation,” Andrew Hultgren, an assistant professor of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, tells the Guardian. “In poor countries, this would exacerbate food security problems and could negatively affect political stability.”
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Paul Kim is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer and editor. He has spent much of his career in service journalism, helping readers make smart decisions, whether they’re looking for the best pet insurance or a great place to grab lunch.
