The June heatwave in the United Kingdom resulted in the loss of 24 million working hours, equivalent to an estimated €1.35 billion hit to the economy, according to a report published today by the London School of Economics (LSE).

Several European countries, including the UK and France, experienced an intense heatwave in June that stretched from the Iberian Peninsula to Ukraine, affecting the Balkans and Germany along the way.

According to the LSE, workers in jobs with greater exposure to high temperatures and higher physical demands, such as construction and agriculture, reduced their working hours more than those in less physically demanding occupations, including academia.

On average, respondents reported working 0.47 fewer hours during the week beginning 22 June, according to the study, which was conducted by the LSE Grantham Research Institute and the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC). The survey included 1,950 adults across the UK.

Additionally, 3.6% of respondents—equivalent to approximately 1.25 million workers nationwide—said they did not work at all during that week because of the extreme heat.

Researchers examined how Britons perceived the heatwave’s impact on their working hours, sleep quality, commuting, and working conditions.

The vast majority (87%) of workers reported experiencing at least one health-related effect, including sleep disruption, increased fatigue at work, and, in some cases, dizziness, fainting, or heart palpitations.

Elizabeth Robinson, Director of the Grantham Research Institute, said the UK remains “a country that is still unprepared for climate change.” She urged the government to take action to make workplaces safer in the face of rising temperatures.