Heatwaves linked to an increase in Australian suicide rates

Heatwaves and high temperatures can have a dramatic impact on people’s physical health. We only have to look at the increases in emergency department admissions during recent heatwaves to know that.

A spike in suicides linked to spikes in heat.

But not many people realise that high variations in temperatures can also impact our mental health.

For my PhD thesis I studied the socio-environmental drivers of suicide rates in Australia from 1986 to 2005. I found that sudden spikes in average temperatures can be attributed as a risk factor for suicide in some cities.

Read the story from The Conversation by a Researcher from the Queensland University of Technology, Xin Qi - “Heatwaves linked to an increase in Australian suicide rates.”