Potato is the most important non-cereal food crop in the world. Modeling climate datasets and the current distribution of the crop showed that until 2020 potato cultivation will be seriously affected in many present cultivation areas, mostly by heat stress. Nevertheless, improving the abiotic stress tolerance of this crop and shifting the production to new areas would permit to maintain and even extend the present production levels. Modern potato breeding pools with their relatively narrow genetic base contain only limited variation in drought and heat stress tolerance, while potato landraces and wild species would be excellent sources for stress tolerance traits. Applying the available genetic and genomic resources of potato together with appropriate breeding and selection strategies, improved varieties could be produced that can better withstand drought and heat stress and thus would better adapt to climate change effects. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.