https://www.healthshots.com/mind/emotional-health/heatwave-side-effects-the-surprising-link-between-hot-weather-and-anger/
In recent days, people have suffered from record-breaking heatwaves all over the world. As global temperatures rise and heatwaves become more frequent and intense, psychologists are looking at the connection between extreme temperatures and human behavior. It may seem very obvious that hot weather makes you angry. However, several psychological studies illustrate that it is not just a casual thought, but there is a strong link between high temperature and increased aggression in human behavior, and they proved that extreme heat influences how people think, feel, and act.
According to a recent study in Seoul, South Korea, the researchers figured out that the risk of severe assault deaths increased by 1.4 % per 1° C increase in temperature. Some people may refute this assertion as an illusory correlation. Furthermore, in Los Angeles, researchers found that on days when the temperature exceeded over 29.4°C, the overall crime rate increased by 2.2% and violent crime by 5.7%. These data support the idea of a link between intense heatwaves and violence in human behavior.
Additionally, extreme heat does not just make people irritable; the influence of high temperature also extends to our cognition as well. In the summer of 2016, in a university in the Greater Boston area, an experiment was conducted: 44 students were divided into 2 groups; the group living in non-air conditioned dorms and the group living in cooled dorms. Then the students took cognitive tests. The result of this experiment illustrates that students living in non-AC dorms scored significantly lower grades on the cognitive tests than students living in cooled dorms, showing slower reaction times and reduced memory.
Some people might criticize the claim that hot weather increases hostility as an illusory correlation. Nonetheless, large-scale studies involving lab experiments and meta-analysis prove that the relationship between heat, aggression, and cognition is real and also measurable.
In conclusion, the message is very clear: heat changes human behavior. As the planet heats up, it’s not just our bodies that are at risk — our minds are too. Thus, we must recognize and understand the connection between climate change and mental health.
Works Cited
https://www.healthshots.com/mind/emotional-health/heatwave-side-effects-the-surprising-link-between-hot-weather-and-anger/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37396982/
By. Minkyu Jung