"The higher the temperature, the lower the productivity": the economic consequences of a heat wave

The United States is experiencing a heat wave. More than half of the population, between 180 and 190 million people, battle temperatures around 100º Fahrenheit. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the most affected states are Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and West Virginia (northeast), in addition to Arizona, Texas, Florida and parts of California.

The authorities carried out a prevention campaign, alerting citizens about the problems that this oppressive heat can cause to their health. Sufficient hydration, avoiding exposure to the sun during the hottest hours of the day, and always trying to be in air-conditioned places are the primary preventions given by the NWS.

In addition to the annoyance of sweating, the heat wave directly affects productivity and energy, directly affecting the economy. This is the finding of several studies published in recent years.

Heat is expensive

According to the specialized media Próxima Energía, heat waves also affect our wallets. The saying in these cases is as follows: The higher the temperature, the lower the productivity. In other words, when the temperature is above 93º Fahrenheit, the body changes the management of its resources and spends more energy on maintaining the body temperature in a comfortable range for the person, thus reducing work capacity and productivity.

"High temperatures cause the regions with the highest level of development to lose one point of GDP and up to six times more to those with the lowest," said the aforementioned media, a statement reinforced by a study in the journal Science Advances. The study is titled "Globally unequal effect of extreme heat on economic growth," and it puts economic numbers on the impact of this type of phenomenon.

"Without knowing the extent of economic losses from heat waves, it is difficult to devise preparedness and risk management strategies that are commensurate with their costs," clarified the authors, who also estimate that cumulative economic losses between the years 1992 and 2013 due to anthropogenic extreme heat ranged from $5 billion and $293 billion worldwide. The same as 6. 7% of GDP per capita for lower-income regions and 1.5% for higher-income regions.

"There is a marked difference in economic losses between regions with lower and higher GDP, which shows that the effects of climate change impact very unequally between rich and poor countries," stated Ernesto Rodríguez Camino, a Senior State Meteorologist for the Spanish Meteorological Association.