CNN —There is a crisis brewing in the olive oil industry. The situation is all the more concerning as it comes on the heels of a bad olive harvest last year, following Europe’s hottest summer on record. In Spain, the world’s biggest olive oil producer, production plunged to roughly 620,000 metric tons, compared to the five-year average of around 1.3 million metric tons, said Holland. This summer, heat gripped swaths of the Mediterranean region, bringing a “heat hell” scientists say would have been virtually impossible without climate change. “It’s getting to the stage where the concerns are significant not just for olive oil but for a lot of crops,” Holland said.

---

Persons: Kyle Holland, “, ”, Walter Zanre, Filippo Berio, Carlos Gil, Farmer Cristobal Cano, Jorge Guerrero, Holland, Zanre, ” Holland, It’s, Corey Lesk, Lorenzo Bazzana, Bazzana, Claudia Greco, Burger King, Nicholas Paulson, ” Paulson, “ We’re, ” Lesk Organizations: CNN, Getty, International Olive Council, Dartmouth College, “, Reuters, University of Illinois Locations: Europe, Spain, Holland, Jaen, AFP, Italy, Greece, Emilia, Romagna, Forli, India, South, University of Illinois Urbana, Champaign