The European economy suffered losses from extreme weather in the summer of 2025 in the amount of at least 43 billion euros, The Guardian reports. The main causes were abnormal heat, droughts and floods.
According to economists, this impact amounted to about 0.26% of EU GDP in 2024. By 2029, losses may grow to 126 billion euros if extreme climate events continue to intensify. The greatest losses occurred in the Mediterranean: Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Bulgaria, where short-term losses exceeded 1% of the added value of the economy, followed by Spain, Italy and Portugal.
A study by the University of Mannheim and the European Central Bank takes into account not only direct destruction, but also indirect consequences – interruptions in supplies, reduced working hours in the heat and delays in transport. Economists note that many of these events were amplified by global warming: the probability of conditions for fires in Spain and Portugal increased by 40 times, and in Greece and Turkey by 10 times.
“The true costs of extreme weather appear gradually and affect a wide range of economic channels,” emphasized Sehrish Usman, an economist at the University of Mannheim. Economists warn that hidden losses, such as interruptions in supply chains, are often underestimated, and ignoring them can underestimate the real damage by up to 30%.
Stefan Allegatt, chief climate economist of the World Bank, noted that the study shifts the focus from direct losses to broader consequences for the economy, which is important for assessing risk and planning adaptation measures.
