Chocolate could be wiped from the face of the earth by 2050, according to new study

CHOCOLATE could be a thing of the past if climate change continues on its course.

Scientists from the University of California say the cocoa plant is scheduled to disappear as early as 2050 due to warmer, more arid conditions.

But the scientists have teamed up with choc giants Mars to save the crop by using new gene-editing technology called CRISPR.

The technology aims to create more climate-resistant varieties of the cocoa plant.

Currently, the plant can only grow in a narrow strip just below the equator and more than half of the world’s chocolate comes from two countries in west Africa – Ivory Coast and Ghana.