United States: Climate Worry Reaches Record Highs
Americans are experiencing unprecedented levels of heat-related anxiety, with worry about extreme heat increasing by nine percentage points over five years, from 35% in March 2018 to 44% in April 2023. The data reveals a troubling pattern where most Americans (72%) are now at least “a little” worried about extreme heat harming their local area, with extreme heat topping the list of climate-related worries. What makes this particularly concerning is how Americans have grown more worried about extreme heat than other climate impacts, including wildfires, droughts, and hurricanes.
The 2024 American Psychiatric Association poll found that 43% of adults feel more anxious than the previous year, up from 37% in 2023. This creates a dangerous intersection where climate-related stress compounds existing mental health challenges. The psychological impact becomes even more pronounced when considering that heat waves are occurring more frequently, increasing from an average of two per year in the 1960s to six per year in the 2010s and 2020s.
Bangladesh: A New Global Hotspot for Heat Anxiety
Bangladesh faces severe physical and mental health risks from rising temperatures, with maximum temperatures rising by 1.1°C since 1980 while the “feels like” temperature has surged by 4.5°C. The World Bank’s comprehensive 2024 survey revealed alarming trends in heat-related mental health impacts. Heatwaves are causing mental health issues including depression and anxiety, with these conditions becoming more prevalent in summer months.
The economic consequences mirror the psychological toll, with heat-related physical and mental health conditions leading to a loss of 250 million workdays in 2024, costing the economy up to $1.78 billion or about 0.4% of GDP. What’s particularly striking is how depression progressively increases with age while anxiety peaks in the 50-65 age group. Bangladesh ranks second globally in exposure to elevated temperatures, with Dhaka’s heat index increasing about 65% higher than the national average.
Australia: Youth Bear the Brunt of Climate Anxiety
Australia presents one of the most comprehensive datasets on heat-related anxiety, with multiple studies showing escalating concerns. One in four young Australians reported feeling very or extremely concerned about climate change, and those with these concerns were significantly more likely to have high psychological distress and negative future outlook. The 2024 ACOSS Summer Heat Survey revealed that 80% of Australians were living in homes that are too hot in summer.
The research landscape shows disturbing patterns where strong evidence exists for increasing risks of heat-associated deaths among individuals with mental and behavioral disorders. Australian youth mental health surveys consistently document this trend, with the proportion of young people aged 15-19 reporting psychological distress increasing from 18.7% in 2012 to 28.8% in 2022. The vulnerability becomes clearer when considering that climate concerns are higher among individuals identifying as female or gender diverse, or who self-report mental health conditions.
France: Emergency Rooms See Mental Health Spikes During Heatwaves
France has emerged as a critical case study for understanding the immediate mental health impacts of extreme heat. In 2022, emergency department visits doubled and consultations with physicians tripled during heatwaves for three health conditions linked to high temperatures. French research demonstrates clear connections between temperature extremes and psychiatric emergencies, with studies showing increased relative risk for dementia ranging from 5% to 17% on days exceeding various temperature percentiles.
The data from French hospitals reveals a concerning pattern where on days with extreme heat (when temperatures exceeded 93 degrees), there was a 7.8% increase in emergency department visits for mental health concerns. This isn’t merely discomfort – it represents measurable physiological changes that directly impact mental health services. The cumulative effects prove particularly troubling, as French studies also examined how three consecutive days exceeding specified temperature percentiles compound psychological impacts.
Portugal: Hospital Systems Under Heat Stress
Portuguese health data provides stark evidence of heat’s impact on mental wellbeing through healthcare utilization patterns. In Portugal, daily hospital admissions increased by 19% during heatwave days between 2000 and 2018. This represents one of the longest-running datasets documenting the relationship between extreme temperatures and mental health service demand in Europe.
European research consistently identifies Portugal as a vulnerable region, with 95% of fatalities associated with weather and climate-related extremes in Europe between 1980 and 2023 linked to heatwaves. The Portuguese experience illustrates how sustained heat exposure creates cascading effects throughout healthcare systems, forcing hospitals to adapt to predictable surges in mental health emergencies during extreme temperature events.
United Kingdom: Rising Heat Intolerance and Mental Health Concerns
British Columbia, Canada provided crucial insights into how extreme heat affects vulnerable populations through extensive interviews with mental health patients. Research conducted between October 2023 and February 2024 with 35 people diagnosed with schizophrenia revealed that symptoms such as paranoia and delusional thinking may hinder participants’ ability to seek relief from heat, while social isolation compounds their vulnerability.
The UK’s mental health response to climate events mirrors broader European patterns, where heatwaves and drought are the health threats most frequently covered by national climate adaptation policies and health strategies. British research contributes to understanding how pre-existing mental health conditions interact with extreme temperatures to create compound vulnerabilities. The isolation factor proves particularly significant, as it prevents access to cooling resources and support networks during critical periods.
Europe Overall: Continental Heat-Mental Health Crisis
European data reveals the most comprehensive picture of heat-related mental health impacts globally. In Europe alone during summer 2022, an estimated 61,672 heat-related excess deaths occurred, while the 2003 heatwave resulted in 70,000 deaths. The European Environment Agency’s 2024 survey of national public health institutes found significant gaps in monitoring systems despite escalating risks.
The survey conducted between May and July 2024 covered various surveillance activities including forecasting mortality in anticipation of heatwaves, near-real time monitoring, and evaluation of health impacts. European research demonstrates that despite increasing duration, frequency, and magnitude of high temperature events and stark warnings about future health risks, coverage of systems to monitor heat’s health impacts remains far from complete. This creates a dangerous knowledge gap precisely when intervention capacity is most needed.
Canada: Mental Health Services Overwhelmed During Heat Events
Canadian research provides critical insights into how extreme heat affects mental health service delivery and patient outcomes. According to a 2022 survey in Canada, more than 40% of respondents saw insufficient mental health professionals as a major problem, with 36% viewing it as significant and 20% as somewhat challenging. This staffing shortage becomes critical during heat events when demand surges.
The Canadian experience with the 2021 Heat Dome event provided researchers with a natural experiment in extreme heat’s mental health impacts. Studies following this event revealed how heat compounds existing vulnerabilities, particularly among populations with pre-existing mental health conditions. Canadian data contributes to the growing body of evidence showing that heat-related mental health impacts aren’t just about discomfort – they represent measurable changes in brain function and psychological wellbeing that require medical intervention.
Global South: Rising Temperatures, Rising Anxiety
Data from developing nations reveals how heat anxiety intersects with economic vulnerability to create compound mental health risks. The 2024 Mental State of the World report, which includes data from 1 million participants across 82 countries, highlights a global decline in younger generations’ mental health across countries. This pattern appears particularly pronounced in regions experiencing rapid temperature increases.
More than 1 billion people are living with mental health disorders globally, with conditions such as anxiety and depression inflicting immense human and economic tolls. The intersection of climate change and mental health creates what researchers term a “double burden” – populations already struggling with limited mental health resources face additional stressors from increasing heat exposure. This pattern emerges consistently across surveys from multiple continents.
Multi-Country Analysis: The Global Pattern Emerges
Cross-national surveys reveal consistent patterns in heat-related anxiety that transcend geographic and cultural boundaries. A majority (54%) of Gen Z globally report feeling stressed to the point of missing work during the past year, with older people less likely to report feeling stressed on each element measured. The Ipsos global mental health surveys consistently document this generational divide in climate anxiety.
The gender gap in mental health concerns proves particularly pronounced among young people, with 55% of Gen Z women choosing mental health as one of the biggest health problems compared to 37% of Gen Z men, while the gap between Baby Boomer men and women remains much smaller. This suggests that heat-related anxiety disproportionately affects younger demographics, particularly young women, creating targeted vulnerability patterns that require specific interventions.
The evidence from these ten regions demonstrates that heatwave anxiety represents a genuine global mental health crisis that demands immediate attention from policymakers, healthcare systems, and communities worldwide.