Italy tests climate-resistant wheat as pasta's future hangs on heat

In the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy's "Food Valley," researchers are creating the pasta of the future by focusing on its main ingredient, wheat, according to a France 24 report aired this week. The project comes as a fourth heatwave of the summer pushes temperatures in parts of Italy close to 40C, with all 27 major cities placed under the highest heat alert, the Guardian reported on Wednesday.

The work is a direct response to a changing climate that is testing the Mediterranean's traditional grain lands. Durum wheat, the hard variety used for pasta, is particularly sensitive to heat stress during its grain-filling phase, and the hotter, drier summers now common across southern Europe are cutting yields and altering protein content.