The damage in the 27 EU countries plus Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Turkey totaled 450 to 520 billion euros (calculated in 2020 prices), according to the EU Environment Agency (EEA) on Thursday in a announced new analysis.
Germany, as the most populous EU member, recorded the highest economic damage of all 32 countries analyzed. In the 41 years they totaled around 110 billion euros. France and Italy followed. The losses per inhabitant were therefore highest in Switzerland.
Only a third insured
Only a quarter to a third of the total damage was insured, the Copenhagen-based EU authority continued. An estimated three percent of all extreme events were responsible for a good 60 percent of economic losses.
The number of deaths from extreme weather during this period was between 85,000 and 145,000, including more than 85 percent from heat waves such as the devastating one in 2003. (SDA)