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Environmental information systems
The indicator shows total economic losses from weather- and climate-related extreme events (such as windstorms, flooding, heatwaves, cold spells, droughts or wildfires) per country and per year (since 1980). A moving average for the previous 30 years is added because of the large interannual variability of the losses.
The graph shows that, until 2002, climate-related economic losses in Portugal remained below the EU’s historical trend. Since 2003, Portugal’s losses have exceeded the EU average in nearly every year, with several severe events between 2003 and 2014 causing significant damage. A similar pattern was observed between 2017 and 2020. From 2021 to 2023, Portugal registered climate-related economic losses below the EU’s historical trend.
Portugal is one of the southern European countries most affected by climate change. The rise of climate-related economic losses is particularly significant regarding wildfires, coastal erosion, droughts and floods, with impacts on water availability and crop productivity, sectors in which the climate protection gap is more significant. Climate-related economic losses result from challenging dynamics requiring targeted adaptation policies. Key challenges include droughts, the decrease in water yields and reservoir storage, the productivity decline of some crops, growing wildfire risks and coastal vulnerability; these are being addressed through targeted climate adaptation policies and plans to increase resilience at the national, subnational and local levels. Climate change has more profound impacts on many other natural and human systems, and it is clear that the total costs of inaction far exceed the costs of adaptation.
References and footnotes
- ↵Iceland Liechtenstein Norway Grants, ‘Environment program – National roadmap for adaptation 2100: Portuguese territorial climate change vulnerability assessment for XXI century’, Iceland Liechtenstein Norway Grants website, accessed 24 June 2025, https://rna2100.apambiente.pt/en.