From the strain our air conditioners put on our wallets and our power grid, to the ripple effects across transportation networks, this extreme heat isn’t just dangerous to our health, it’s costing our economy.
Hot temperatures over long periods of time can strain the electric grid, cause transportation delays and even put kinks in the supply chain. Weather insurance experts say it’s become an increasing problem for major outdoor events, like the Olympics.
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“For many industries, certainly the vast majority of our buyers, there is a direct correlation between sustained heat and a loss of revenue,” said Sean Curtin, President of Tokio Marine HCC. “These costs are in the absolute billions.”
Curtin, who has been working in weather insurance for 30 years, said Tokio Marine HCC insures at least part of every major event across the globe – covering canceled or reduced ticket sales due to extreme heat.
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“If people aren’t going and they don’t want to stand in line, don’t want to deal with the hot sun, these numbers are astronomical,” Curtin said.
The extreme heat can even damage or delay public transportation in some cases. For example, hot temperatures over a prolonged period of time can cause train tracks and asphalt to expand and deform, according to Sara Winslow, a researcher with the Museum of Science.
“We can also see electricity brownouts or blackouts where the electrical system can’t keep up with the heat and then it shuts off,” Winslow said.
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Running your air conditioner constantly not only costs more, it strains the electric grid, according to Mary Cate Colapietro of ISO New England Inc.
“This week we actually saw our highest demand for electricity so far this summer season – over 24,000 megawatts so to put that number in perspective 1 megawatt is enough to power 1,000 homes in New England,” Colapietro said.
ISO New England – the region’s power grid operator – declared a level 1 emergency during a heat wave last month.
“I believe in our time that we have not had the need to resort to those types of blackouts or things of that nature,” Colapietro said.
At least in New England, some relief is coming. Temperatures will drop from the 90s to the 80s in the Boston area Thursday and by the end of the day we should see a break in the humidity as well. For more on the forecast, click here.
