Protecting mental health from extreme heat: recommendations for policy and action
Author(s)
Type
Report
Abstract
24% consider mental health in a meaningful way, e.g., by detailing specific mental health impacts or related interventions 14% include specific interventions to address the mental health impacts of heat Executive summary Extreme heat is one of the most immediate and rapidly worsening consequences of climate change. It comes with serious implications for mental health. Evidence shows that exposure to high temperatures increases mortality among people living with mental health conditions, raises rates of psychiatric hospital admissions, and heightens suicide risk. Yet, mental health remains poorly integrated into heat action plans around the world. In this report we examine 143 heat action plans and find that: Overall, mental health is usually only included in heat action plans in a superficial way-if it is mentioned at all-and rarely translated into concrete, resourced and targeted action. However, around the world, governments, local organisations and communities are intervening to protect people's mental health from the impacts of extreme heat. This report showcases six case studies of successful efforts to protect people's mental health against extreme heat. The report recommends that national, regional and local policy makers working on heat action plans and mental health action plans: 1. Recognise the negative impacts of heat on mental health. 2. Highlight the heightened risk faced by people living with mental health conditions during extreme heat, particularly those with severe mental health conditions. 3. Monitor the impacts of extreme heat on mental health to inform early-warning and heat-adaptation responses. 4. Ensure tailored and evidence-informed actions are implemented to protect and promote mental health during extreme heat.
Date Issued
2026-07-29
Citation
2026
Publisher
Grantham Institute, Imperial College London
Copyright Statement
©2026, the authors. Produced for United for Global Mental Health. This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No-Derivatives 4.0 licence. This licence permits all or part of the work to be copied and shared with others, provided that the original authors and source are credited. The full licence is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0.
Publication Status
In preparation