Rising Temperatures Linked to Growing Mental Health Burden in Australia

Environment Institute member Professor Peng Bi has led groundbreaking research showing an increase in the burden of mental disorders due to rising temperatures driven by climate change and warns it is "only going to get worse" if no action is taken. This includes mental and behavioural disorders (MBDs) such as anxiety and depression. 

The work was conducted at the University of Adelaide's School of Public Health, analysing data from 2003 to 2018 to determine how much of the mental health burden in Australia can be associated to days where the temperature was above a certain threshold. A standardised public health measure was used called disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), combining years lost due to disability, early death or illness.

Using DALYs data, researchers calculated yearly MBD burdens and compared them to daily mean temperatures across 2,300+ Australian jurisdictions. Key findings revealed that high temperatures have caused an average loss of 8,456 DALYs per year within Australia, representing 1.8 per cent of the total burden from MBDs. However, the burden of MBDs is set to significantly rise up to 20 per cent by 2030 and up to 50 per cent by 2050. 

“From mild distress to serious conditions like schizophrenia, rising temperatures are making things harder for millions,” Professor Peng Bi said.

The study identified temperature thresholds based on location, finding the Northern Territory as having the highest projected risk and temperature levels, while South Australia and Victoria had the highest share of mental health burden linked to high temperatures. Many scenarios were tested, including one showing that younger people (24-44) are most affected by the mental health burden. As mental health issues begin early on, a strong emphasis was placed to build resilience, therefore understanding how heat impacts mental health and providing public health professionals the tools to help communities to adapt.

As Australia continues to heat up, the need for targeted adaptation and mitigation strategies is critical for high-risk areas, as the burden of MBDs is likely to escalate. The results are a clear call to policy-makers to develop focused public health interventions that minimise the health impacts of climate change, while providing a baseline for future national and international studies exploring the relationship between climate change and mental health. 

Read the full peer-reviewed study here, published in Nature Climate Change.

Read the ABC Online article here.