The summer heatwave of 2026 has reduced Europe's economic capacity by approximately 113 billion euros. This figure was released by Allianz Insurance and highlights the negative impacts of climate change on the economy of the continent.
Significant Losses in European Countries
Allianz Insurance, a major financial and insurance company based in Munich, has reported that Italy leads the table with economic losses of about 28 billion euros. Following Italy, Germany is estimated to have a loss of 25 billion euros, and France is next with around 20 billion euros. These losses are the result of halted or reduced production and also a decline in added value in the economies of these countries.
Read more: Sudden Increase in Dollar Price Influenced by G7 Officials' Statements
The reasons for these losses include decreased labor productivity, increased break times, and employee absenteeism. Overall, the total economic loss across Europe is likely to reach about half a percent of the projected economic output for the current year.
Consequences of Climate Change
To prepare the first report known as the "Climate Risk Tracker," economists and experts from Allianz in Hamburg and the company's property insurance sector have analyzed data related to weather conditions and damages, modeling the expected economic consequences.
In addition to losses from extreme heat, direct damages from storms, floods, and other natural disasters are also significant. Allianz estimates that the amount of these damages in Germany has reached 50 billion euros over the past five years. In fact, the annual damage during this period has been on average twice that of the comparative period from 2000 to 2019.
Globally, according to Allianz data, losses from natural disasters have increased by 54 percent. Frank Zommerfeld, head of property insurance at Allianz, states: "Germany has been particularly affected by the damages caused by climate change." He cites one reason for this issue as Europe's geographical position in northern latitudes, which leads to experiencing more warming compared to other continents.
Worrying Outlook for the Future
Norway is among the countries that have experienced the highest increase in temperature. The average temperature in this country in 2025 was nearly 3.7 degrees Celsius higher than the average from 1950 to 1970. Germany and France also have temperature increases slightly over two degrees, placing them above the average of the countries studied.
Experts from the largest insurance company in Europe are not very optimistic for the coming year either. One reason for this concern is the climatic phenomenon "El Niño," which is associated with rising water temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean and can affect the weather conditions in very distant regions.
If 2027 is once again very warm due to an "El Niño" event, this study suggests that economic output in 144 countries examined worldwide could collectively decrease by 392 billion euros. China is likely to be more affected by this economic consequence than other countries.
Read more: Change in Working Hours of the Chekavak System for Processing Regular and Encoded Checks · Is Hormozgan on the Verge of 2-Meter Snowfall?
