PARIS (Reuters) – Heat waves that strike Western Europe and South Europe could cost 0.5 point of gross domestic product (GDP) on the continent and 0.3 points to France, according to a study by Allianz Trade published on Tuesday.
“To put this in perspective, a day of extreme heat (greater than 32 ° C) is equivalent to half a day of strike,” said the experts of Allianz Trade, a subsidiary specializing in credit insurance companies in Allianz.
Based on two academic articles analyzing the consequences on productivity and the production of an extreme heat day, the experts of Allianz Trade made “a first simple calculation” of the consequences on the GDP of the number of days when temperatures should exceed 32 ° C, according to forecasts, between May 1 and July 14.
“Overall, using the weights of world GDP, the heat wave results in a reduction of 0.5 percentage points of Europe’s growth of the GDP of Europe for 2025, and approximately 0.6 percentage points worldwide, highlighting the increasing burden on physical climate risk,” reports Allianz Trade.
China, Spain, Italy and Greece could undergo a loss of GDP from almost a percentage point due to the current heat wave, detail the experts of Allianz Trade, against 0.6 points for the United States, 0.3 points for France and only 0.1 point for Germany.
(Written by Bertrand de Meyer, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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