Europe suffered intense weather this summer. Now, it’s learning the economic cost.
The record-breaking temperatures, droughts and floods could cost the region’s economy at least 43 billion euros, or $50 billion, a study shows.
The report, which was released Monday and presented to European Union lawmakers, focused on the extreme weather that took place from June to August, with the aim of helping the bloc adapt to what scientists say is one of the fastest-warming regions on the planet.
“The true costs of extreme weather surface slowly because these events affect lives and livelihoods through a wide range of channels that extend beyond the initial impact,” said Sehrish Usman, an assistant professor at the University of Mannheim who led the study with two economists from the European Central Bank.
Using a model based on weather data and estimates of the historical impact of extreme weather on 1,160 different regions across the European Union, the economists said they were able to create a projection of what they described as “the potential impact of extreme weather events in quasi real time.”
But they cautioned that “considerable uncertainty surrounds these estimates” because the data used to conduct the study was limited to the summer months and specific weather events. For example, the data did not include the impact of wildfires, or the combination of a simultaneous drought and heat wave.
Europe been plagued by a summer of severe heat waves. Climate change has begun to force people to face difficult questions about the economic and cultural costs of adapting to the increasing temperatures.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post Europe’s Extreme Summer Weather Could Cost It Billions appeared first on New York Times.
