European economy lost 113 bln euro this year due to summer heat — research

TASS

BERLIN, September 24. /TASS/. The anomalous summer heat in Europe led to a decline in total European production by 113 billion euro this year, with Germany suffering the second-largest damage after Italy, said the international insurance company Allianz, citing the results of its own Climate Risk Tracker study.

According to the company, Germany's losses amounted to 25 billion euro, while Italy lost 28 billion euro. France ranks third, with a projected GDP decline of 20 billion euro. Economic losses in this context refer to production halts and reduced value added. This is driven by falling labor productivity, as well as longer breaks and missed workdays. Therefore, total European losses could amount to nearly 0.5% of the expected economic output for the current year.

The study was based on weather data and damage statistics on one hand, and modeling of expected economic implications on the other. In addition to the heat-induced decline in economic performance, there are also actual losses caused by storms, floods, and other natural phenomena. Allianz estimated these at 50 billion euro for Germany over the last five years. Annual losses turned out to be on average twice as high as during the comparative period from 2000 to 2019. However, on a global scale, damage from natural disasters has increased by 54%, according to Allianz, with Norway leading the list of the most affected countries.

Allianz experts are not overly optimistic about next year either, due to the El Nino weather phenomenon. This cyclical warming of water in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which occurs every few years, can influence weather on land even in very remote regions.

Fonte: TASS