Arjan Smit gazes out over his tulip fields, a riot of red and pink flowers he has cultivated all his adult life and part of a family business his grandfather started in 1940.

The 55-year-old has seen many changes over a long career but he says climate change is making an all-consuming profession even harder.

"The climate has changed. We can feel that. We have more wet periods. Last year, it was just raining, raining, raining and you can see the result," he told AFP.

From a distance, the fields of Smitflowers are a picture-perfect row of flowers, the type found on Dutch tourist brochures that attract visitors from around the world.

But he also pointed to muddy gaps, where tulips have fallen victim to the rain.

"It's sometimes hard. Last winter, it was very wet. In total in our sector, we lost around eight to nine percent of the bulbs in the field. They were killed by water," said Smit.

"And we planted four percent fewer. That means we are now starting to harvest our bulbs but we have lost a minimum of 13 percent of the new bulbs for next year."

As the world heats up,........

© International Business Times