Socio-economic sensitivity to weather extremes: A scoping review of European research

Socio-economic sensitivity to weather extremes: A scoping review of European research | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Systematic Review Socio-economic sensitivity to weather extremes: A scoping review of European research Dhruv Akshay Pandit, Miguel de Castro Neto, Paulo M.M Rodrigues This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8612077/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract While a growing body of research has examined the economic and social consequences of extreme weather, few attempts have been made to collate this evidence into a coherent map. This scoping review addresses this gap by providing the first systematic mapping of research on the socio-economic sensitivity of European regions to short-run weather shocks. Following a PRISMA-ScR protocol, we search Scopus and Web of Science, identifying 77 eligible articles published between 2000 and 2025. We analyse how studies define and measure weather shocks and socio-economic outcomes, the data and methods they employ, the sectors and regions they cover, as well as the associated impacts across sectors and the channels they operate through. Our review finds that weather shocks are consistently associated with reduced output growth, increased heat-related mortality, rising inflationary pressures, and greater inequality, with effects varying by region, sector, and income level. However, we also identify significant gaps in spatial resolution, sectoral coverage, and methodological diversity. By mapping the existing evidence and its limitations, this review provides a structured foundation for future research on weather-related socio-economic risk in Europe. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences Extreme weather Socio-economic impacts Climate change Europe Scoping review Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files supmatscopingreviewsubmissionnature.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 10 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 13 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 23 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 23 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 07 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 04 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 04 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8612077","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Systematic Review","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":613273839,"identity":"d2568a89-040d-4d6a-ac17-1dcbb2faae9b","order_by":0,"name":"Dhruv Akshay Pandit","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA70lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDCCA0DMY8AgB+YkgEnmBmK0GBgjaWFsgLHwaGEwSEQymYAWvtvNzx68KfiTvp29x/DDw5w6BoPbjQ3MhT9wa5G8c8zccI6BQe7OnjPGEonbDjMY3DnYwDwDjy0GNxLMpIF+yd1wIy0BqOUAUCSxgZkHr5b0byAt6QY30pJ/JG6rI0ZLDtiWBIMbyceAtjAT1iJ550yZ5BwDY8MNZw4fswD6hUcSqOXwjDTcWvhut2+TePNHTt7geGPzzZ/b6uT4biQffFxgg1sLgwQanwdEHMajAVMLGDDj1TIKRsEoGAUjDQAA7a9V1Pe5dxAAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Universidade Nova de Lisboa","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dhruv","middleName":"Akshay","lastName":"Pandit","suffix":""},{"id":613273840,"identity":"ff4c9ca9-0a24-4f2d-ab88-b9a3e713c95a","order_by":1,"name":"Miguel de Castro Neto","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidade Nova de Lisboa","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Miguel","middleName":"de Castro","lastName":"Neto","suffix":""},{"id":613273841,"identity":"3169ab41-f163-49e9-8b21-c3a63d61afd8","order_by":2,"name":"Paulo M.M Rodrigues","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Banco de Portugal","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Paulo","middleName":"M.M","lastName":"Rodrigues","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-15 15:53:24","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8612077/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8612077/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106724669,"identity":"e6e30ffa-51a3-47cb-a9fa-0278195ab339","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-12 18:29:04","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1322718,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"scopingreviewsubmissionnature.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8612077/v1_covered_54f23159-cb05-489c-8c0e-98c104479f36.pdf"},{"id":106523146,"identity":"88b622f9-bc3a-4546-8693-96ed9b1b1757","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-09 13:15:26","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":269455,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"supmatscopingreviewsubmissionnature.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8612077/v1/f90f8c071d76715b8d4ecc6a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Socio-economic sensitivity to weather extremes: A scoping review of European research","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":true,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Extreme weather, Socio-economic impacts, Climate change, Europe, Scoping review","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8612077/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8612077/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"While a growing body of research has examined the economic and social consequences of extreme weather, few attempts have been made to collate this evidence into a coherent map. This scoping review addresses this gap by providing the first systematic mapping of research on the socio-economic sensitivity of European regions to short-run weather shocks. Following a PRISMA-ScR protocol, we search Scopus and Web of Science, identifying 77 eligible articles published between 2000 and 2025. We analyse how studies define and measure weather shocks and socio-economic outcomes, the data and methods they employ, the sectors and regions they cover, as well as the associated impacts across sectors and the channels they operate through. Our review finds that weather shocks are consistently associated with reduced output growth, increased heat-related mortality, rising inflationary pressures, and greater inequality, with effects varying by region, sector, and income level. However, we also identify significant gaps in spatial resolution, sectoral coverage, and methodological diversity. By mapping the existing evidence and its limitations, this review provides a structured foundation for future research on weather-related socio-economic risk in Europe.","manuscriptTitle":"Socio-economic sensitivity to weather extremes: A scoping review of European research","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-09 13:15:15","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8612077/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-10T07:48:56+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-03-13T14:46:33+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"231694199729398034557452628309855925855","date":"2026-03-04T08:27:23+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"43035001534688037238035703518764499122","date":"2026-02-23T11:59:00+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-02-23T11:08:41+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-02-23T11:04:40+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-02-07T14:27:50+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-02-04T13:03:33+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","date":"2026-02-04T13:01:07+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"894b5079-c5a1-4af6-84f5-ac26d28a0bb0","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 9th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":65258286,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences"},{"id":65258287,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"},{"id":65258288,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-09T13:15:16+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-09 13:15:15","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8612077","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8612077","identity":"rs-8612077","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}