Europe counts economic cost of extreme summer weather

Extreme weather across Europe this summer produced measurable economic damage, according to analysis of the season's impact. Heat and drought conditions affected agricultural output, constrained river transport and shipping on key waterways, and put pressure on power generation and grid demand. The disruption adds to a pattern in which climate-related events increasingly show up in short-term economic data rather than only in long-term projections. Economists have pointed to insurance losses and reduced harvests as among the more directly quantifiable costs.