The international environmental organization "Greenpeace" has published an analysis on the extent of damage caused to the German economy by the excessively hot summer in Germany.
Modern.az reports, citing foreign media, that the analysis titled "The cost of an excessively hot summer to Germany" stated that factors such as reduced agricultural productivity, forest fires, increased healthcare costs, and decreased production have damaged the German economy.
According to calculations, this amount is equivalent to 0.8-0.9 percent of Germany's gross domestic product.
According to the analysis, the largest financial loss due to the heatwave was recorded in the business and production sectors. The excessively hot weather, which lasted for approximately 25 days during the summer, led to a decrease in worker productivity and interruptions in production. As a result, the economy is estimated to have suffered a direct loss of 10.8 billion euros. This is followed by a loss of 5-7.5 billion euros to forestry due to drought and forest fires, as well as a cost of 6.9 billion euros to the healthcare economy due to human losses related to the excessively hot weather. Drought caused a loss of 3.4 billion euros in agriculture. The decrease in teaching and learning efficiency in schools due to hot weather is estimated to have cost the education system 3.2 billion euros.
The analysis also notes that the record decrease in water levels in the Rhine River and the disruption of inland waterway transport increased economic losses. This is reported to have created an additional financial burden of between 3.4-4.5 billion euros for logistics and industrial production.
Greenpeace representatives stated that due to a lack of data, it was not possible to calculate losses in some areas. For this reason, the total damage of 36 billion euros should be considered the minimum of actual losses. Mauricio Vargas, a financial expert at Greenpeace, stated that the heat and drought experienced this summer are catastrophic for millions of people and the German economy. He called on the German government to take urgent and serious measures against the climate crisis.
