A new study finds that climate change is creating environments where humans have never successfully cultivated rice before.

Climate change is pushing rice-growing regions into temperatures beyond those at which rice has been cultivated in the past 9,000 years of human history, new research finds.

The study suggests that warming is proceeding 5,000 times faster than rice has ever evolved.

This means rice may be reaching its “thermal limit,” the point at which it can’t easily adapt to rising temperatures. Although people can breed more heat-resistant strains or move rice cultivation into new regions, future warming is likely to cause serious disruption for the billion people who depend on rice cultivation for their livelihoods, said study first author Nicolas Gauthier, an anthropologist and geographer at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Published Date: May 19, 2026