Climate change costs lives and money
Climate change costs lives and money
Over the past 40 years, Europe has seen a sharp increase in temperatures. Warmer temperatures have exacerbated extreme weather events across the continent, with dire consequences for large numbers of people and the economy.
The temperature is increasing faster than ever
The average temperature has been 2.2°C higher over the last five years than it was at the end of 19th century. 2020 was Europe’s warmest year to date.
Climate change causes extreme weather
- The number of severe floods in Europe is increasing
- The Mediterranean region has seen a 22% increase in the intensity of rainfall over the last 50 years.
- Countries in Europe suffered more large forest fires in 2018 than ever before recorded.
- There have been more fires in central and northern Europe, regions not typically affected in the past.
- Since 1980, forest fires have burned more than 190 000km2 of land in Europe – an area more than double the size of Portugal.
People are dying because of extreme weather
Between 1980 and 2020, over 138 000 people in the EU lost their lives due to extreme weather and climate-related events. Germany, France, and Italy suffered the most.
Climate change leads to economic losses
The financial losses caused by extreme weather and climate-related events exceeded €487 billion in the EU27 over the last 40 years. This is significantly more than what the EU spends over two years on all its policies and programmes. The overall cost was the highest for Germany, Italy and France. Denmark, Austria and Luxemburg had the highest losses per capita.
- The economic cost of river flooding in Europe exceeds €5 billion a year on average.
- Forest fires cause about €2 billion of economic damage every year.
Presented data comes from the following sources:
- Copernicus Climate Data Store
- European Environment Agency
- 2020 European State of the Climate report
- Meteo-France
- The European Forest Fire Information System
Last review: 31 January 2025