Extreme weather has caused losses of $605 billion since 1980: EEA

The European Environment Agency (EEA) said on Wednesday (June 14) that extreme weather conditions in Europe have caused economic losses of more than 560 billion euros (USD 605 billion) since 1980. Moreover, the agency said that these conditions have killed almost 195,000 people.

"Nearly 195,000 fatalities have been caused by floods, storms, heat- and cold waves, forest fires and landslides" between 1980 and 2021, the EEA said in its report.

The agency said that out of 560 billion euros in losses, only 170 billion were insured. This comes to about 30 per cent. The EEA launched a new online portal collating recent data on the impact of extreme weather.

"To prevent further losses, we need to urgently move from responding to extreme weather events...to proactively preparing for them," EEA expert Aleksandra Kazmierczak told AFP.

Heatwaves a major cause of death

The latest data shows that heatwaves have accounted for 81 per cent of deaths and 15 per cent of financial losses.

Climate Change: Corporate winners & losers | Business bets on extreme weather outcomes

The EEA said that Europe needs to take steps to protect its ageing population as the elderly are particularly sensitive to extreme heat.

"Most national adaptation policies and health strategies recognise the impacts of heat on cardiovascular and respiratory systems. But less than half cover direct impacts of heat like dehydration or heat stroke," it said.

There were more deaths than usual in the summer of 2022 after repeated heatwaves. However, the 2022 deaths were not included in the data that was published on Wednesday.

There were 53,000 more deaths in July 2022 than the monthly average in 2016-2019, up by 16 per cent, though not all of those deaths were directly attributed to the heat, the EEA said.

Spain registered more than 4,600 deaths linked to the extreme heat in June, July and August.

Climate modelling has predicted longer, more intense and more frequent heatwaves.

The EEA said in February that extreme weather killed 142,000 people and caused 510 billion euros in losses between 1980-2020.

The increase in the figures released on Wednesday was partly due to the fact that in 2021, flooding in Germany and Belgium led to economic losses of almost 50 billion euros.

In terms of deaths, a change in methodology in France and Germany was responsible for the large variation, the EEA said.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE