Study estimates UK heatwave cost economy £1.15 billion

Britain's record-breaking June heatwave led to about 24 million lost work hours and cost the economy an estimated £1.15 billion, or $1.5 billion, according to an estimate released Thursday by the London School of Economics.

The UK, France and other European countries experienced an exceptional period of heat in June. The heat disrupted transport, schools and hospitals and raised concerns about health and infrastructure that is not well adapted to high temperatures.

The study by the Grantham Research Institute at LSE and the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change surveyed 1,950 adults across the UK. It found that people in physically demanding jobs with higher exposure to heat, including construction and agriculture, reduced their working hours more than people in low-exposure and less physically demanding jobs, such as academia.

Across the week of June 22, the average reported reduction in hours worked was 0.47 hours. The study estimated that 3.6 percent of respondents, equivalent to about 1.25 million workers in the population, did not work at all that week because of the heat.

Researchers looked at perceived effects of the heatwave on working hours, sleep and travel to work. A majority of respondents, 87 percent, reported at least one health-related impact during the week, including disrupted sleep, tiredness at work, dizziness, fainting or a faster heartbeat.

Elizabeth Robinson, director of the Grantham Institute, said the findings showed a country that remains insufficiently adapted to a changing climate. She said the government could not continue to ignore extreme heat and urged it to act.

England recorded its warmest June on record this year. Scientists cited in the source warned that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense because of climate change.