Wildfires have been hitting Europe this summer. In France and Spain alone, more than 320,000 people had been evacuated as of late July. Wildfires continue as heatwaves spread with mid-August approaching.
Measuring the cost of wildfires is complicated. Burnt area is easy to measure, but the economic impact, and other effects, need more effort.
"Europe's wildfires this year confirm that their economic cost reaches far beyond restoring burnt land,” Professor Simone Varotto, from Henley Business School at University of Reading, said.
“The eventual bill will include destroyed homes, businesses and crops, disrupted tourism and industry, smoke-related health effects, added strain on public finances and potentially higher insurance premiums.”
Still, the burnt area shows the scale of wildfires and their possible impacts.
