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This story was originally produced and published by The Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the collaboration Climate Desk .
Rising temperatures are linked to the rise in suicide rates, according to a large new study. Researchers warn that the impact of climate change on suicides can be as important as economic recessions, which are known to increase rates of self harm.
The links between mental health and global warming have not been widely studied but new work has analyzed temperature and suicides across the United States and Mexico in recent decades. He found that the suicide rate increased by 0.7% in the United States and 2.1% in Mexico when the monthly average temperature increased by 1 C.
The analysis was done at County level and took into account seasonal variations, poverty levels and even new celebrity suicides that can lead to more deaths. Scientists have found that warmer periods lead to more suicides regardless of the region's richness and climate.
"Determining whether the suicide rate meets climatic conditions is important because suicide alone causes more deaths than all other forms. Professor Marshall Burke, of Stanford University in the United States, and his colleagues published their research in the journal Nature Climate Change
. changes in suicide rates due to climate change could [lead to] result in significant changes in the associated global health burden, particularly in richer countries where current suicide rates are relatively high, " the researchers said. Record temperatures have been recorded worldwide in recent weeks and are likely due to climate change.
This type of study can not prove a causal link between the increase in temperature and the increased number of suicides. But the results show "remarkable consistency" over time and in many different places, according to scientists. It is also supported by recent research that has linked climate change to 60,000 suicides in India over the last three decades.
The researchers also analyzed more than 600m messages on Twitter and found that the use of depressive words, such as alone, dark, lonely and trapped, increased when temperatures rose. "It also suggests that mental well-being deteriorates during warmer periods," the scientists said. One possible way to do this is that when the body cools in warmer conditions, the blood flow to the brain is changed.
If current carbon emissions are not reduced, scientists estimated that between 9,000 and 40,000 additional suicides could be expected by 2050 in the United States and Canada due to climate change. This number of deaths is significantly higher than expected from a 1 percent increase in unemployment due to an economic recession, the researchers said. Other research has already shown clearly that the rise of heat increases violence between people.
If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-800-273-8255 for the Suicide Prevention Lifeline . You can also send a text message from HOME to 741-741 free of charge, 24 hours a day from the crisis text line. Outside the United States, please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of resources.
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