By Petra Pavlovičová

 

BRUSSELS, 17 August. - (ANA) - Extreme heat is becoming a major threat to Europe’s economy, disrupting industries that rely on outdoor work and exposing gaps in worker protection. 

 

“Excessive heat is a major risk for health and the economy in Europe, and it has significant macroeconomic and even fiscal implications,” Hans Martin Füssel, climate adaptation expert at the European Environment Agency (EEA), told EUobserver.

 

As wildfires continue to devastate parts of France and Spain, burning more than 42,000 and 80,000 hectares respectively, forcing more than 300,000 people to evacuate their homes, according to AFP, concerns are growing over the scale of the economic damage that heatwaves can inflict.

 

Europe’s latest heatwave has already pushed temperatures above 40°C in several countries, such as France or Spain, while strained healthcare systems contributed to thousands of excess deaths across Europe.  

 

“Heat stress is often called the silent killer,”said World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a post on X. 

 

France could face the largest financial losses from summer’s extreme temperatures, with around $240bn [€211bn] through to 2030 in economic output at risk, an analysis by Allianz SE, Europe’s largest primary insurer estimated in a recently published heat-impact simulation. 

 

The simulation assessed more than 40 countries around the world and is based on estimated cost of heat waves between 2014 and 2024. Allianz conclusions shed light on Europe's limits.

 

Since the 1980s, losses from climatological hazards in Europe have risen with sharp peaks in 2021-2022. That year, total losses reached around €50bn.

 

And although France topped the ranking in absolute economic losses, Italy, Spain and Germany followed close behind.

 

The report estimated that the fiscal consequences will also affect France, Italy and Spain the most, as they are economies that are the "least able to absorb them".  - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/17 August 2026 - - -