This week's heatwave across Western Europe broke temperature records in the UK
and France and is straining health systems and power grids. Concurrent heat and
drought are spreading into the real economy, damaging crops and disrupting
supply chains while increasingly reducing household incomes. A study in Global
Environmental Change found that over roughly the past 20 years such extreme
weather lowered European household annual income by nearly 3% versus a no-event
counterfactual and put about 5.6 million people at risk of falling into poverty.
Income hits are larger where hot, dry conditions are more frequent because high
cut temperatures, labor productivity and raise heatstroke and cardiovascular disease
illness. The study warns that, without strong climate action, Europe could face
double-digit income losses in the future.
