From Italy to Croatia, a warming climate threatens prized white truffles

ALBA, Italy (AP) — Guided by the beam of a flashlight, Tino Marolo follows his dog Stella through the darkness of a Piedmont woodland, searching for one of Italy’s most prized culinary treasures hidden beneath the soil.

In the hills around Alba, home to the world’s most famous white truffles, hunters known as “trifolau” traditionally begin their season on Oct. 1. But increasingly, they are confronting a challenge above ground: climate change.

Months of heat and drought have raised concerns about the future of the prized white truffle, a fungus that depends on cool, moist soils and a delicate relationship with tree roots.

“The entire month of October was affected by the lack of rain in July and August and the high temperatures, so it was characterized by poor production and poor truffle shelf life,” said Antonio Degiacomi, president of Italy’s National Centre for Truffle Studies.

According to Degiacomi, dry and compacted soils have also produced smaller truffles this season.

The difficult harvest comes as Alba and the surrounding Langhe hills welcome visitors for the International White Truffle Fair, one of Italy’s best-known food events, which opened on Oct. 10 and runs until Dec. 6.

For Axel Iberti, president of the fair, the season began slowly, with smaller truffles emerging after a hot, dry summer. More recent rains have improved conditions, helping larger specimens appear.

Despite tighter supplies, demand remains strong. Prices at Alba’s truffle market are running about 20% to 30% higher than last year, Iberti said, while hotels and other accommodations have largely sold out during the fair period.

The concerns extend beyond this year’s crop.

“This year certainly stands out from a trend we all know has been going on for five or six years now,” Degiacomi said, citing hotter summers and increasingly erratic rainfall patterns.

Back in the woods, Marolo says uncertainty has always been part of the hunt.

“You certainly come home empty-handed more often than you do with a truffle,” he said. “It’s really the thrill of saying: I don’t know what I’m going to find.”

Similar concerns are emerging elsewhere in Europe’s truffle-producing regions, suggesting a challenge extending beyond any single forest or region.

Across the Adriatic Sea in Croatia, truffle hunters and scientists describe many of the same challenges, from shrinking harvests to declining habitat suitability.

In oak forests outside Zagreb, truffle hunter Petar Alebic says years of drought have made the prized fungi harder to find.

“Each year for the past seven or eight years has been worse than the last,” Alebic said. “Due to the drought, unfortunately, truffles are becoming smaller and scarcer.”

Alebic estimates this year’s harvest is about 30% below normal and increasingly supplements his income with truffle-hunting tours for tourists.

Scientists studying truffles in Croatia report similar findings. Croatia is home to about a dozen truffle species, according to mycologist Armin Mesic of the Rudjer Boskovic Institute. The most prized, the white truffle, can fetch as much as 4,000 euros ($4,500) per kilogram.

“Drought, a lack of rainfall and high temperatures have a significant impact on both the quantity and quality of truffles,” Mesic said.

“Quantities are declining, as is the geographical area where white truffles grow,” he added.

Yet experts in Piedmont reject the idea that the white truffle is doomed.

“I don’t think we’re facing extinction; we’re facing a challenge,” Degiacomi said.

Researchers are studying ways to help truffle habitats adapt, including improved forest management and experimental irrigation during prolonged droughts.

“We’re trying to do what nature does, and do it artificially,” Degiacomi said.

In Alba, the response increasingly centers on restoring and protecting forests.

Iberti has expanded the fair’s focus beyond tourism to include environmental education and conservation efforts.

“The truffle is the sum, but it’s also the vector,” Iberti said. “People come to Alba and the Langhe to discover everything the territory has to offer.”

Working with municipalities, truffle hunters and landowners, communities have begun creating new public truffle grounds and planting trees that could eventually support truffle growth.

“The forest is an act of love and faith for the next two or three generations,” Iberti said.

Advocates say reforestation can help lower soil temperatures, retain moisture and reduce erosion, although it can take more than a decade before newly planted trees become suitable hosts for truffles.

Researchers are also investigating the role of soil microorganisms and looking for tree varieties better suited to hotter and drier conditions.

Attempts to cultivate the prized white truffle continue, but reliable commercial production remains elusive. Unlike black truffles, which can be cultivated, white truffles have largely resisted large-scale production.

As autumn progresses, the size of this year’s harvest will become clearer, along with its effect on prices and supplies reaching restaurants and markets.

For now, however, the ancient partnership between hunters, dogs and forests endures.

One evening in the woods, Stella eventually stops and begins to dig.

The dog has found a truffle.

Whether future generations will continue to enjoy such moments may depend on a mix of science, conservation and adaptation to a warmer climate.

Zampano reported from Rome.

Truffles hunter Tino Marolo searches for truffles with his dog Stella in the woods in Monteu Roero, near Alba, northern Italy, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Truffles hunter Tino Marolo searches for truffles with his dog Stella in the woods in Vezza d'Alba, near Alba, northern Italy, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Truffles hunter Tino Marolo searches for truffles with his dog Stella in the woods in Vezza d'Alba, near Alba, northern Italy, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Truffles hunter Tino Marolo shows truffle found in the woods in Vezza d'Alba, near Alba, northern Italy, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Truffles hunter Tino Marolo checks truffle found with his dog Stella in the woods in Vezza d'Alba, near Alba, northern Italy, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Her father may no longer be with her, but Lorita Santos keeps the memories they shared close to her heart.

She was among thousands of Filipinos who flocked to cemeteries across Manila on Sunday to visit the graves of their loved ones, marking All Saints’ Day.

For generations, the tradition known locally as Undas has brought families together to remember and honor their dead. The name derives from the Spanish word “honras,” meaning “honors.”

“Just because they have passed away does not mean we should forget them,” said Santos, who visited the resting places of her father and three other relatives.

Her family marks the occasion by offering flowers and candles. Together, they also pray and share snacks.

The visits are an opportunity to share stories about those who have passed away. Santos fondly remembers how her father would give his children and grandchildren small gifts every payday.

“We will never forget that,” she added.

Santos grew up visiting the graves of her relatives, even outside All Saints’ Day. Now, she is teaching her kids to do the same.

“We pass this on to our children to make sure they are aware of the tradition, so that if something happens to us, they know what to do,” Santos said.

Encompassing All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, Nov. 1 and 2, Undas is rooted in Catholic observances but also incorporates beliefs and customs that predate Spanish colonization.

“There is a very long tradition of ancestor worship in the Philippines,” said Nestor Castro, an anthropology lecturer at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Long before the Spanish arrived, Filipinos honored ancestral spirits known as anito by offering food and other gifts to the dead. These practices were not tied to a particular date but formed part of a broader tradition of ancestor veneration, Castro explained.

The tradition evolved after the Spanish arrived in 1565 and introduced Catholicism and new religious practices, some of which may have come from Mexico.

The two countries have historical ties dating back to Spanish colonial rule, when the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade connected them for centuries. Today, they also have similar customs for honoring the dead and remembering loved ones.

In Mexico, many families also honor their departed loved ones by spending a day or night at their graves or setting up altars at home. It is a joyful occasion filled with marigolds, music and food.

Similar customs are observed in other countries with strong Catholic traditions, including Bolivia, Poland and Hungary, where families gather to honor their dead with flowers, candles and prayers.

In Filipino culture, death is not only a time to honor those who have passed away, but also an occasion that brings families together, Castro said.

During funeral wakes, he added, families wait for relatives who live far away to arrive before burying their loved ones. “That’s when family reunions occur. It’s a binding event.”

That sense of togetherness also extends to Undas. Sticky rice cakes are often shared for the occasion, symbolizing the bonds between relatives through their sticky texture.

“These events foster and solidify kinship relationships,” Castro said.

For Mike Mamaril, a 42-year-old school maintenance employee, visiting his parents’ graves is a custom passed down from his grandparents. He said he makes time for the annual visit, even though he rarely gets another opportunity to go.

The gatherings are also a chance to reminisce about his mother and father, including the lighter moments of his childhood.

“We always talk about who among us got scolded the most,” Mamaril said.

Hernández reported from Beijing.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

A woman takes photos using her smartphone as they visit their departed at Manila's North Cemetery, Philippines while the country observes All Saints' Day on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

People walk beside apartment-type tombs at Manila's North Cemetery, Philippines as the country observes All Saints' Day on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A man carries a child and flowers at Manila's North Cemetery, Philippines as the country observes All Saints' Day on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A man places Philippine flags on soldier's tombs at Manila's North Cemetery, Philippines as the country observes All Saints' Day on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A man holds a balloon as he walks beside apartment-type tombs at Manila's North Cemetery, Philippines as the country observes All Saints' Day on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)