NEW YORK (PIX11) — As the scorching heat settles in the tri-state area, the extreme heat is not only dangerous but can severely impact a city’s economy, according to a climate economist.
Temperatures are expected to surpass 90 again Thursday and there’s no relief in sight.
During heat waves, productivity naturally declines, said Professor Gernot Wagner of Columbia Business School. Other areas that are impacted are crops, wildfires destroying farmland, and problems with water, he added.
“It has a measurable impact on the economy,” Wagner said on the PIX11 Morning News.
Extreme weather also severely impacts low-income residents who are unable to adapt.
“It’s the poor who suffer,” Wagner said. “The poor are also more often in jobs exposed to extreme heat.”
Watch the full interview with Wagner in the player above.
