Europe heat waves and wildfires raise economic toll across sectors
Why it matters: Analysts now treat extreme summer heat as a drag on GDP, with a 2025 study estimating a 0.3% hit to output.
Europe’s repeated summer heat waves are becoming a broader economic threat, driving costs higher across health care, cooling, transport, agriculture, insurance and public budgets. Huge wildfires in France and Spain have burned 300,000 acres and forced 300,000 evacuations, while Germany has also been hit by extreme heat. Western Europe is now facing its third heat wave in six weeks, and the World Meteorological Organization said the region recorded its hottest June on record this year. Economists warn the pattern is cutting productivity, disrupting supply chains, hurting tourism and lifting food prices. A 2025 paper by the University of Mannheim and the European Central Bank estimated last summer’s heat waves, droughts and floods cut Europe’s output by 0.3%.