The cost of heat waves caused by climate change has cost the global economy at least $16 trillion since the early 1990s, according to a study published Friday.
Climate change is causing heat waves to become more frequent.
According to the peer reviewed research, extreme heat caused by human-driven climate change has cut more than $16 trillion from the global economy between 1992 and 2013.
Extreme heat has an impact on human health, productivity and agricultural output, but not all countries suffer the same cost.
The researchers found that economic losses from extreme heat averaged at 1.5% of GDP per capita for the world's richest nations.
The research showed that the world's poor nations lost 6.7% of GDP per capita, compared to the world's rich nations who lost 4.6%.
The study underscores the need for countries to consider the cost of adaptation to climate change in a more nuanced way, according to the study's first author.
The price tag for doing nothing is very high.
The quality of economic and environmental data around the world is variable, and covering the world's poor and hottest regions is often the worst. This makes it hard to generate precise estimates on the economic costs associated with climate change, particularly for the regions least represented by existing data, and there are wide margins in their estimates. The researchers said they were able to account for any uncertainty in their analysis. They said it would be irresponsible to use data gaps as an excuse to not take action in parts of the world most vulnerable to climate change.
Some countries could benefit from the extreme heat caused by global warming, according to the study's senior author. The study shows that parts of Europe and North America could theoretically benefit from having warmer spells. These regions are home to some of the wealthiest people in the world.
It has been difficult to show the effects of climate change because of the long time scales and gradual changes. The world's leading scientists point to human activity as the cause of unprecedented warming. Storms, heat waves, cold snaps, flooding, and wildfires are increasing in severity due to the changes in the climate. The world is expected to get much worse without drastic change to reduce carbon emissions.
One of the first studies to quantify the economic costs of extreme heat is being done by the researchers. If they expanded their estimate to the present day, they would see an increase in extreme heat events. The U.K. and parts of China and Europe had many records broken this year. The research will fuel a debate about who should pay the lion's share of the costs to prevent or damage caused by climate change.
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