analysis
Weather extremes lead to billions in Europe
Every year, flooding, heat and cold cause immense damage every year. The European Environment Agency calculates how high this will be – and shows further problems.
Weather and climate-related extreme events in Europe cost a billion-dollar amount annually. As can be seen from an updated analysis by the European Environment Agency EEA, the economic damage due to such events in 38 European countries in the recent comparative year 2023 amounted to more than 45 billion euros.
In 2021 and 2022 they were even higher. This means that the economic damage caused by extreme events according to EEA information has exceeded the total brand of 790 billion euros since 1980 – in Germany alone, they amounted to 180 billion euros.
In which countries are the damage greatest?
The environmental agency based in Copenhagen evaluated data in the 27 EU countries and eleven countries linked closely with them, including Switzerland and for the first time the six states of the Western Balkans.
The damage in Germany is highest in Germany, France and Spain, the four most populous countries in the region. Calculated per capita, they are highest in Slovenia.
Many damage insufficiently insured
According to the analysis, the main causes of the damage are floods, storms, wind and hail. Too few of these damage are insured, the environmental agency complained. The economic total damage subsequently increases faster than the insured damage.
From 1980 to 2023, most deaths primarily caused heat and cold waves, droughts and forest fires. However, the EEA pointed out that deaths could often not be attributed directly to heat. This limits the comparability somewhat.
dpa
Source: Stern
