July 3, 2024 — Climate change is hitting us hard, even in ways we don’t notice. It could be what you see right outside your window, or it could be things your body reacts to that you can’t see. And a lot of us are finally acknowledging its toll: 64% of Americans say they’re worried about climate change, and 1 in 10  report symptoms of anxiety or depression due to climate change, leading some to seek help.But even if you haven’t been through the trauma of a wildfire or hurricane, or lost sleep fretting for the climate’s future, research suggests that climate change may be affecting your mental health and well-being in other, less obvious ways.

Heatwaves and dust storms may cause irritability and aggression. Air pollution has been linked to depression and psychotic disorders. And rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels can impair our ability to think.

Climate change is “really an experiment that humanity is running on itself,” said Michael Ranney, PhD, a cognitive psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley.

According to NASA, last summer was the hottest since global records began in 1880. Now we may be amid another record breaker. So it’s a good time to educate yourself on the potential mental health consequences of extreme heat – and air pollution and high CO2 – and learn how to protect yourself.Hot Enough to Fry Your Mood

A 2022 study showed that on extremely hot days, more people visit hospital emergency rooms for mental health problems like anxiety, schizophrenia, self-harm, and child behavioral disorders. Suicides go up during heatwaves. A recent meta-analysis suggested that for each 1.8-degree Fahrenheit increase in the local temperature, suicides rise by 1%.

Heatwaves may also make us more irritable and prone to violence. In the 1800s, Belgian astronomer Adolphe Quetelet noticed that whenever heat smothered France, violent crime would surge.

Today, there are dozens of studies linking heat with homicides and assaults, said Craig Anderson, PhD, a psychologist at Iowa State University. A 2023 study of Chicago linked extreme heatwaves to surges in crime. In a 6-year study of about 4 billion tweets on Twitter, now called X, the number of hate messages increased with extreme temperatures.

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