Extreme Temperature Diary- Tuesday September 16th, 2025/Main Topic: Europe’s Summer of Extreme Weather Caused €43bn of Short-Term Losses

Europe’s summer of extreme weather caused €43bn of short-term losses, analysis finds #Climate

Climate Tracker (@climate.skyfleet.blue) 2025-09-15T04:27:39.138Z

Europe’s summer of extreme weather caused €43bn of short-term losses, analysis finds | Extreme weather | The Guardian

Extreme weather

Europe’s summer of extreme weather caused €43bn of short-term losses, analysis finds

Greatest damage from heat, drought and flooding done in Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Bulgaria

Extreme weather

Europe’s summer of extreme weather caused €43bn of short-term losses, analysis finds

Ajit Niranjan

The violent weather that battered Europe this summer caused short-term economic losses of at least €43bn, according to an EU-wide estimate, with costs expected to rise to €126bn by 2029.

The immediate hit to the economy from a single brutal summer of heat, drought and flooding amounted to 0.26% of the EU’s economic output in 2024, according to the rapid analysis, which has not been submitted for peer review but is based on relationships between weather and economic data that were published in an academic study this month.

The greatest damage was done in Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Bulgaria – each of which suffered short-term losses above 1% of their 2024 “gross value added” (GVA), a measure similar to GDP. They were followed by other Mediterranean countries including Spain, Italy and Portugal.

The economists from the University of Mannheim and the European Central Bank described the results as “conservative” because they did not account for the record-breaking wildfires that torched southern Europe last month or the compounding impact of extreme weather events that strike at the same time.

Sehrish Usman, an economist at the University of Mannheim and the lead author of the study, said the study’s “timely estimates” could help policymakers target support in the absence of official data. “The true costs of extreme weather surface slowly because these events affect lives and livelihoods through a wide range of channels that extend beyond the initial impact.”

Scientists have raced to work out the extent to which global heating has worsened punishing weather extremes this summer, with studies suggesting climate breakdown made scorching fire weather 40 times more likely in Spain and Portugal, and 10 times more likely in Greece and Turkey. The death toll from the “quietly devastating” June heatwave is estimated to have tripled in 12 big cities because of planet-heating pollution.

Dry, parched and cracked land
Parched land on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria. Scientists have raced to work out the extent to which global heating has worsened publishing weather extremes this summer. Photograph: Borja Suárez/Reuters

While most research into the economic costs of climate breakdown looks at direct impacts, such as destroyed assets or insured losses, the authors of the new study used historical relationships between violent weather and economic output to account for ripple effects, such the limited hours that builders can work during heatwaves or the disruption to commute times after floods damage railways.

Stéphane Hallegatte, the chief climate economist at the World Bank, who was not involved in the study, said it confirmed that the wider economic impacts of extreme weather were larger than the direct effects and last longer than people imagine.

“I’ve been arguing for a long time to shift our focus from the direct damages from disasters to broader metrics that capture a fuller economic impact, so I’m very happy to see the study doing exactly that,” he said.

But he warned that it used “imperfect proxies” to identify extreme weather, which would likely lead to underestimating the full costs. The GVA did not capture the full cost of extreme weather on people and firms, he added, or the benefits of reducing vulnerability.

“Especially when disasters affect poor communities and people, the impact on GVA may be minimal, because these people are poor,” said Hallegatte. “But it does not mean they won’t suffer.”

Gert Bijnens, an economist at the National Bank of Belgium, who was not involved in the study, said supply chain disruption was one of the most significant “hidden costs” that usually went uncounted. A study he coauthored on the costs of the devastating Belgian floods in 2021 found that sales at manufacturing firms far from the disaster fell sharply if they had long-standing suppliers in the flood zones.

Ignoring such effects could underestimate damages by as much as 30%, Bijnen said.

“Of course, such estimates come with uncertainty as they rely on historical averages and can’t yet fully capture compounding events,” he added. “But the big message is clear: extreme weather is already leaving a sizeable economic footprint, and the indirect effects can be just as damaging as the direct destruction.”

MEDITERRANEAN HEAT WAVEExceptional mid September heat:Almost 45C at In Salah, ALGERIA 🇩🇿39.8C Amaraleja, PORTUGAL 🇵🇹39.4C El Granado, SPAIN 🇪🇸Min 21.0C Gijon Puerto – R Highest Sept Minimum35.2C Pegomas, FRANCE 🇫🇷 0.1C from September record40C in Europe tomorrow !Map:Meteociel

Extreme Temperatures Around the World (@extremetemps.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T16:37:36.285Z

‼️WORLD RECORD 49.2C at Jeddah is …Highest temperature ever recorded in the world in the second half of SeptemberWORLD CLIMATIC HISTORY REWRITTEN TODAYIn the Saudi town of Jeddah, dubbed the "Saudi granny"

Extreme Temperatures Around the World (@extremetemps.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T18:50:52.577Z

Extreme heat wave in SAUDI ARABIAToday the city of Makkah recorded an insanely hot day(near WORLD RECORD for mid September)Minimum 34.0C Maximum 46.6C.And tomorrow it can be even hotterMakkah this 2025 will probably end up as the world hottest station as per yearly average

Extreme Temperatures Around the World (@extremetemps.bsky.social) 2025-09-15T18:27:32.177Z

EXTRAORDINARY HEAT IN CHINATemperatures up to 39.6C at Zhuzhou,Mins. up to 30C.Monthly records include Pudong,Jiading,Chongming,Danyang, Jiangyan and Yancheng,etc (see list below,can be translated with Qwen AI by Alibaba)Mid-Monthly records are 132.39.2C Wagu,0.4C from TAIWAN monthly record!

Extreme Temperatures Around the World (@extremetemps.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T13:50:41.814Z

JAPAN SEPTEMBER SCORCHEREndless record heat in Japan:Fiercely hot days and nights with extreme humdiity makes the heat still dangerous.Today September records include:High Maxes:35.8 Kimotsuki Maeda34.1 Ashimine33.3 ChiyaHigh Minimums:29.0 Ibaruma !21.1 Yamanaka

Extreme Temperatures Around the World (@extremetemps.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T09:28:22.920Z

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Extreme Temperatures Around the World (@extremetemps.bsky.social) 2025-09-15T22:09:30.916Z

EXCEPTIONAL HEAT IN THE CARIBBEANEvery single day,every single island keeps beating and rebeating every single recordUS VIRGIN ISLANDS HOTTEST SEPTEMBER NIGHT IN HISTORY tiedMin 28.9C/84F for two nights in a rowCharlotte Amalie AirportUSVI have broken records every month

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Jared Rennie (@jjrennie.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T16:25:08.458Z

🙉 How do we cut through disinformation & make #climate change visible in everyday life?Join @katharinehayhoe.com, Bernadette Woods Placky & Laura Schifter at The #ClimateHub #ClimateWeekNYC for Amplify Climate. 📣📅 Live at 1:00 PM EDT – September 23Register now: wedonthavetime.org/events/clima…

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Main Topic: Critics Shred Trump Energy Department Comments on Wind, Solar via @commondreams.org On The Extreme Temperature Diary SAT 9/13/2025 At: guyonclimate.com+#climate #weather and record temp reports via@extremetemps.bsky.social / @katharinehayhoe.com @michaelemann.bsky.social

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ICYMI – “We want to mitigate catastrophic fires…but we also don’t want to overuse public safety power shut offs because we know it’s our tool of last resort.” A 'Time Machine' for use in the height of #wildfire season. www.mercurynews.com/2025/09/12/h…

Silicon Valley North – Citizens Climate Lobby (@cclsvn.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T13:56:15.121Z

“The true emergency is that our fossil-fuel-based energy system is polluting the air, water, lands, and climate on which plaintiffs’ lives, liberties, and personal security depend” #Pollution – #ClimateJustice.www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/c…

Silicon Valley North – Citizens Climate Lobby (@cclsvn.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T13:34:21.683Z

#ClimateAction. Find Your Voice. Help the Environment. Keep #ClimateChange in the Conversations of the World.citizensclimatelobby.org/about-ccl/ch…

Silicon Valley North – Citizens Climate Lobby (@cclsvn.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T13:53:42.825Z

@ThirdActOrg.bsky.social Co-Founder @BillMcKibben.bsky.social explains: We’re at a dire point in the human story, with temps higher than they’ve been in 125k years, but we have one secret weapon: the sudden & rapid drop in the price of energy from the sun. ☀️ Keep watching: buff.ly/MpiS776

Bioneers (@bioneers.org) 2025-09-14T14:02:26.787Z

Similar to last year, there's an unusual peak-season quiet in the Atlantic this hurricane season. But that quiet will likely end this week due to the expected development of Invest 92L in the central tropical Atlantic. The latest from @bhensonweather.bsky.social and I:

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“Her presence gave weight to our event and helped elevate youth voices, weaving hope and humor into her message.” Boosting the #ClimateAction presence with #Meteorologist Kari Hallcitizensclimatelobby.org/blog/grassro…

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Only one week until #SunDay! ☀️

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Transit in Trouble. It's Not Just in Philadelphia.How will this stopgap solution affect plans for investments that were expected to happen in the next five years, like the Trolley Modernization Project?www.inquirer.com/transportati…

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Please check out the book page for #ScienceUnderSiege (by @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social & yours truly). Contains links to where you can purchase the book, as well as reviews, news articles, op-eds and interviews!michaelmann.net/books/scienc…

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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) (@peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T17:10:56.031Z

We’re just at the beginnings of this #PFAS scourge. If we don’t regulate now, what health issues will we see in a decade? Call. ☎️ and use @resist.bot to send letters #PFAS#resistbotresist.bot/petitions/PF…

Mark Pickens (@airshipwriter.bsky.social) 2025-09-14T16:31:27.080Z

#Nature “As far as I can tell it is not necessarily a sign of human influence.” Huge MOla Mola washes ashore in the Bodega Bay.www.mercurynews.com/2025/09/10/r…

Silicon Valley North – Citizens Climate Lobby (@cclsvn.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T13:47:27.084Z

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