High Temps, Heat Waves Linked to Poorer Mental Health in Children, Teens

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 12, 2026 (HealthDay News) — High temperatures and heat waves are associated with poorer mental health in children and young people, according to a review published online July 25 in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Shevonne Kwan, R.N., M.P.H., from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to assess the impacts of nonoptimal ambient temperatures and heat waves on mental health outcomes among children and young people.

Based on 23 included studies, 19 examining ambient temperature and four examining heat waves, the researchers found that a 1-degree Celsius increase in daily ambient temperature was associated with a 0.9 percent increase in morbidity-related mental health outcomes across health care encounters and diagnoses (relative risk, 1.009). The most vulnerable were children aged 5 to 18 years, with a 1.5 percent increased risk associated with high temperatures and 25 percent increased risk during heat waves. Children and young people in humid subtropical and hot-summer continental zones had the highest risks from high temperatures.

“There’s a range of reasons why children are more susceptible to changes in climate that are linked to social and developmental stressors,” coauthor Jacqueline Stephens, M.P.H., Ph.D., also from Flinders University, said in a statement. “The impacts can include sleep disruption during hot nights, which can affect well-being and emotional regulation, as well as indirect effects to parents’ mental health, caregiving stress, and family conflict, all of which increase during heat waves.”

Abstract/Full Text