New Delhi: A review of global studies looking at the relationship between temperatures, heatwaves, and mental health has found that children and teenagers aged five to 18 are the most vulnerable
The findings, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, also show that adverse mental health outcomes increase by almost 1 per cent for children with every 1 degree Celsius rise in daily temperature.
“There’s a range of reasons why children are more susceptible to changes in climate that are linked to social and developmental stressors, including disruptions to outdoor activities, their education, and recreational opportunities,” co-author Jacqueline Stephens, an epidemiologist and associate professor in the college of medicine and public health at Flinders University, Australia, said.
“Adolescence is also a sensitive period for mental health development, which can increase susceptibility to extreme heat. Higher temperatures have also been associated with poorer learning and academic performance in children,” Stephens said.
Researchers who analysed data from 23 global studies, also found that the risk of poor mental health outcomes increases by 25 per cent during heatwaves and by 1.5 per cent in higher temperatures.
“Children aged 5-18 years were most vulnerable, with a 1.5 per cent increased risk associated with high temperatures and 25 per cent increased risk during heatwaves,” the authors wrote.
Stephens said, “The impacts can include sleep disruption during hot nights, which can affect wellbeing and emotional regulation, as well as indirect effects to parents’ mental health, caregiving stress, and family conflict, all of which increase during heatwaves and extreme weather events that are becoming more common.”
The findings support the need to integrate mental health into climate-adaptation efforts and to develop targeted interventions for children and young people, the researchers said.
“Children and young people are especially vulnerable because of their physiological and behavioural susceptibility to heat, because they’re still developing and have a lower likelihood of adopting protective behaviours during extreme heat events,” co-author Corey Bradshaw, professor of global ecology from Flinders University’s college of science and engineering, said.
Bradshaw added that the review also found risks were higher in developed countries, potentially reflecting the effects of urban heat islands as well as greater support seeking to combat the impact on young people’s mental health.
However, the weaker impacts of heat in middle-income countries could be due to an under-reporting rather than a lower vulnerability within the population, according to the authors.
The findings highlight the need to move beyond understanding the risks of extreme heat and consider how children and young people can be better protected as temperatures rise, the researchers said.
Co-author Syeda Hira Fatima from the HEAL Global Research Centre at the University of Canberra said practical, child-focused responses could include “adaptations such as cooler classrooms, better ventilation and shaded outdoor spaces, alongside research to determine whether these measures translate into meaningful improvements in children’s mental health and wellbeing”.
