Extreme rainfall and more wet days will hamper global economy, study says

Anders Levermann, who is head of the complexity science research department at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, was speaking after a recent study published in the journal Nature found economic growth falls when the amount of “wet days and days with extreme rainfall” increases.

Scientists at PIK looked at data from over 1,500 regions between 1979 and 2019. In a statement last month, PIK said the analysis suggested that “intensified daily rainfall driven by climate-change from burning oil and coal will harm the global economy.”

The peer-reviewed study was led by Leonie Wenz, from PIK and the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change.