The heat waves that have hit France in recent months could cause direct and indirect economic losses of between 10 billion and 15 billion euros, French Environment Minister Monique Barbeau said, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
Barbeau referred to estimates by the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Research “INSEE“, warning that the period of extreme heat is not over yet.
For comparison, the drought in 2022 resulted in direct and indirect costs of about 5.6 billion euros. This year's heatwaves, however, are longer and more intense, accompanied by larger-scale forest fires and leading to a more serious decline in agricultural production, the minister said.
The ongoing drought in France has already left more than 40,000 people with limited access to water, Barbeau also said.
The record heat and drought in Europe this summer could lead to losses of hundreds of billions of euros, according to estimates by economists and scientists. Extreme weather events linked to global warming are disrupting the energy sector and shipping, reducing agricultural production and putting pressure on health systems.
Large-scale forest fires are further increasing economic damage and risking this summer becoming the worst season in Europe since records began.
Western Europe is experiencing another summer marked by heat waves and drought, but global temperatures have not yet reached their peak and are expected to rise towards the end of the year due to the climate phenomenon "El Niño", the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced today, quoted by the EFE agency.
"El Niño" is now fully established in the Pacific Ocean. "We expect even higher global temperatures," said John Kennedy, head of the WMO's climate information department.
He said peaks in global temperatures usually occur after the peak of an El Niño event, which usually occurs between November and January.
Kennedy said the current heatwaves in Western Europe were largely the result of long-term global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions, combined with a persistent pattern of alternating high- and low-pressure systems in the Northern Hemisphere.
In July, extreme heat hit Western Europe, North America and Central Asia. In August, these regions, as well as parts of East Asia, continued to experience unusually high temperatures.
According to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, Western Europe has experienced its warmest June and July on record.
The region is currently experiencing its fourth heatwave of the summer, with temperatures exceeding 35-36 degrees Celsius in France, Switzerland and the UK, WMO spokeswoman Claire Nullis said.
The heat has been accompanied by a prolonged lack of rainfall, which has contributed to record low water levels in major European rivers such as the Seine, Rhine and Danube.
In some parts of Europe, the rainfall deficit is significant and has been building up for months. Nullis warned that a summer storm would not be enough to restore river levels and soil moisture.
Hungary, Serbia and other countries along the Adriatic coast estimate that between 250 and 350 millimeters of additional rainfall will be needed to make up for the accumulated deficit.
Meanwhile, other parts of the world are facing the opposite problem. Heavy monsoon rains are affecting Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, with flooding in the region at risk this week.