After a dreary grey 6 months, the heat and sunshine are here at last. Temperatures over the Bank Holiday long weekend will be warm - peaking at up to 34°C in southeast England on Sunday and Monday - and likely breaking the 1922 record for the hottest-ever day in May. Because temperatures will be well above the highest normal ranges for multiple consecutive days, it is classified as a heatwave. Such temperatures are highly unusual for May – and based on everything we know the most likely culprit is human-induced climate change.
The relationship between heat and human health is complex: while overall, we are resilient and tolerant of a fairly wide range of climatic conditions, overwhelming scientific evidence indicates that extreme levels of heat, coupled with a lack of appropriate support structures to manage it, can be highly problematic for health – especially in certain subsets of the population (such as the elderly, very young, and those working in an outdoor occupation).
While most people typically understand that heat can cause physical health problems (things like dehydration-related health risks are fairly well understood by much of the public), far fewer are aware of the mental health impacts of extreme heat and heatwaves. For the 16% of the UK population living with a mental health condition (the most common being anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia), heat can pose a range of challenges – some of which can be quite serious.
Read the full story on the University of Oxford website.