In a recently published paper authored by the ECB’s senior lead economist, ECB research shows that productivity decreases by around 1.5% during a heatwave while food prices in Europe increased by 0.7% during the Summer heatwave of 2022.
The ECB has raised concerns that ongoing climate changes in Europe that are raising the extremities of weather events may severely impact economies. The ECB is also warning that an increasing number of regions in Europe are being affected by heatwaves, leading to negative economic impacts on productivity and food prices, and also pointed out that “the hottest European summer temperatures tend to rise by up to double the global average increase”. The increasing temperatures will have higher impacts with a heatwave like that of 2022 impacting food prices by up to 1.8% if it happens in 2060.
The temperature of the Mediterranean Sea has reached 2023’s all time-high once again during this Summer.
The ECB concluded its research paper with a touch of dark humour, advising readers to enjoy this summer, as it may be one of the coolest we will experience compared to the summers yet to come.
Newsroom
Leave a Reply