The wildfires and heatwaves that have hit Europe this summer have already caused economic losses of more than €3.1 billion in the first two months of the fire season alone. This is more than the average annual losses for the EU as a whole from such disasters, which the European Commission estimates at €2.5 billion.
The Financial Times writes about this.
However, as the FT notes, this €3.1 billion is only the cost of restoring the burned land. The losses from destroyed property, losses to farmers, a drop in tourism, business downtime and future costs of fighting the fires have not yet been calculated.
The fire has already destroyed almost 500 000 hectares of territory in the five most affected countries in Europe — France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Romania.
In France, in particular, large-scale fires have temporarily halted operations at defense and space companies, including Safran, Dassault Aviation, and ArianeGroup. In the Gironde department, about 40 000 companies have been affected, and up to 150 000 workers have been placed on short-time work.
Agriculture is also suffering serious losses. In Spain, fires have destroyed more than 18,500 hectares of agricultural land, and in France, Bordeaux vineyards and oyster farms are under threat.
In addition to the fires, Europe is experiencing a severe drought. Due to the critical shallowing of the Danube, Hungary reported the shutdown of its largest nuclear power plant, and Romania has already taken one of its reactors out of operation — there is not enough water for cooling.
Experts emphasize that the real economic losses will be much higher. If the fires begin to cover large cities, the losses could increase many times. In addition, these calculations do not yet fully take into account the consequences of the recent forest fires in Greece.
At the same time, recovery from the disaster may temporarily increase the GDP of European countries due to reconstruction costs, but economists emphasize: this is not the creation of new wealth, but only the restoration of what was destroyed.
- This summer, large-scale forest fires have swept through several countries in Southern Europe. In Spain, Portugal and Greece, fires are spreading rapidly due to intense heat, prolonged drought and strong winds, and the current wave of fires has become one of the largest in recent years.
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