The dossier. Less work, price increases and scarcity: the bill is 25 billion

ROME - The heat waves that are hitting Italy will impact growth. Fewer days worked due to the heat, down GDP . According to a study by Allianz Trade, the gross domestic product will decrease this year by 1.2% (equal to 25 billion) . More than double the European average (-0.5%) and to a much greater extent than France (-0.3%) and Germany (-0.1%).

"High temperatures - analysts write - significantly reduce labor productivity and significantly impact economic growth." Due to the heat, the International Labor Organization estimates a loss of 2.2% of potential working hours globally, equivalent to about 80 million full-time jobs.

Electricity prices for businesses

Businesses risk an increase in bills . In particular, energy-intensive ones: steel mills, paper mills, ceramics and glass companies, as well as food and metallurgy companies. For the president of Assocarta, Lorenzo Poli , "it is a moment of great concern and careful monitoring of the electricity markets, with particular reference to those of France and Germany, which are recording record prices and which could also have effects on prices in Italy".

In the first two days of July, the average price of electricity was 129.6 euros per megawatt hour compared to an average monthly price of 107.9 in June. If temperatures remain at the levels of the last few days, the price trend in July will remain at the values ​​​​of the beginning of the month.

The spectre of blackout returns

"The real issue is the blackouts, which as we have seen have occurred in some cities", says the president of Confindustria, Emanuele Orsini . He is referring to the power cuts that have occurred in recent days in Milan and its province, Bergamo and Florence due to faults in the underground cables of the medium and low voltage electricity networks.

Overheating is linked to high temperatures and increased demand for air conditioning. Businesses are also potentially at risk of blackouts , which occur when electricity production cannot meet demand because the latter is greater than supply at a given moment in time.

2 million burned per day, farmers on their knees

Farmers and breeders are also dealing with the super heat: vegetables and fruit are burned in the fields, while milk production is falling in the stables. According to the association of agricultural businesses, in Lombardy, where half of Italy's milk comes from, high temperatures are causing a 10% drop in production, with peaks of 15% .

Farmers are thus losing over 2 million euros a day. In Piedmont, the heat has brought forward the ripening of 10-15 days especially for wheat, barley, tomatoes and grapes. Corn and sunflower crops in Umbria are under stress . In Tuscany, the heat has burned hundreds of kilograms of melons, while the alarm is also growing for watermelons, plums, peaches, tomatoes and aubergines.

Construction site activities halted, new occupational diseases

The exceptional heat is also affecting construction sites. According to the Fillea-Cgil construction union, the operational safety plans that include the risk of heat stress and the Inail occupational disease tables need to be updated. “The current tables do not take into account the consequences of heat stress in a condition of physical effort that can be configured within a construction site,” says the general secretary, Antonio Di Franco , to Repubblica . The revision - he adds - is needed “to better frame the effect of heat on accidents and for the recognition of new occupational diseases”. Among the requests is also an organic law with the obligation to interrupt work.