The extreme heat wave that swept across Europe in June has resulted in a reduction of grain harvest value by more than €2 billion, with France and Hungary suffering the most significant damage.
In the four weeks following the onset of exceptionally high temperatures, grain production forecasts for the European Union and the United Kingdom were reduced by nearly 9 million tons. Experts estimate that crop losses have cost approximately €2.1 billion at national prices for wheat, barley, corn, and other crops.
This represents about 5% of the projected value of the entire harvest. The EU and UK corn harvest forecast declined from 57.2 million to 52.7 million tons.
France accounted for nearly half of the total losses, with its production forecast reduced by 4.1 million tons at a cost of approximately €891 million. Most of the damage in France is attributed to corn crops.
Additionally, according to data from the European mortality monitoring system, at least 10,000 people died across Europe due to extreme heat that impacted the western part of the continent during late June. In the French region of Ile-de-France, including Paris, a red weather danger level was again declared on July 10 as forecasters warned temperatures could exceed 35 degrees next weekend.
