How heat affects the mind - Policy and infrastructure changes are urgently needed to protect our mental health from the impact of high temperatures ( www.apa.org )

Temperatures are rising as summer kicks off, and psychological scientists are sounding the alarm on what to be aware of in warmer temperatures. It remains to be seen whether summer 2024 breaks the records of last summer: In the United States, heat domes baked the Midwest; El Paso, Texas, saw weeks without a day below 100°F; and Tampa Bay, Florida, issued its first extreme heat advisory. In November 2023, Phoenix reported that at least 569 people had died because of heat-related reasons over the summer.

Extreme heat days are an inevitable consequence of a warming world, and things are not cooling down. Globally, 2023 was the hottest year on record, and the Met Office—the United Kingdom’s national weather service—predicts that 2024 may be worse. It could even be the first year on record to surpass 1.5°C of warming above the preindustrial era.