Extreme heat and weeks of drought have cost the German economy at least €36 billion, equivalent to 0.8% to 0.9% of the country’s economic output, the environmental organization Greenpeace said on Monday.
The figure was calculated by adding up economic damage from crop failures, wildfires and health costs, as well as productivity losses and education costs caused by the heat.
“This summer of heat and drought was a catastrophe for millions of people and for the economy,” said Greenpeace financial expert Mauricio Vargas. “Even though this natural disaster has not left piles of rubble, the scale of the damage is shocking.”
Vargas called on the German government to respond to the climate crisis “with the seriousness it demands” at its upcoming Cabinet retreat. “The figures are unambiguous: we simply can no longer afford to carry on as before,” he said.
Germany has not been spared the effects of Europe’s record-breaking summer. The country’s all-time temperature record was broken on three consecutive days in June, reaching a peak of 41.7 degrees Celsius in the eastern state of Brandenburg, while several major forest fires have broken out in recent weeks.
Greenpeace said dozens of millions of working hours have been lost due to heat, while weeks of drought are expected to result in significantly lower harvests in some parts of the country.
Inland shipping had to be suspended in some stretches due to extreme low water levels on major rivers such as the Rhine. Industries reliant on large quantities of raw materials and intermediate products were particularly affected – including chemicals, steel and mineral oil.