Climate change and mental health: How extreme heat can have devastating impact on those living with mental illness
heat waves, hospital admissions for mental health spike. The past 10 years were the hottest on record, and as we prepare for another scorcher of a summer, it's time to take steps to increase our preparedness for extreme heat.
The potential for heat stress, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are well known hazards of extreme heat. Yet, physical health is not the only factor to consider under extreme heat; mental health can also suffer. Many people can relate to the sleepless nights during hot summer months, as well as anecdotal experiences of irritation and aggression when thermally uncomfortable.
But for those living with mental illnesses, the hazard of extreme heat is more dire than temperamental responses to day-to-day disruptions. From my research in Phoenix, Ariz. and the work of others during the 2021 heat dome in British Columbia, we know that the heat is exacerbating existing mental illnesses, increasing likelihoods of hospitalization and even death under warmer conditions for people with schizophrenia.
The interactions between environment and health are increasingly identified by researchers as public health concerns as air and water quality issues, as well as death tolls from heat, make headlines. Research has shown that lower socioeconomic groups, racialized people and the unhoused, are at greater risk of exposure to hotter conditions, while older adults are more vulnerable to hotter conditions.
Heat and mental illness
The relationship between
