When temperatures increase, mental health risks can too

VPM | By Rhitu Chatterjee

Published July 2, 2026 at 8:40 PM EDT

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

The National Weather Service has issued extreme heat warnings for much of the Midwest and Northeast. We know that temperatures this high are a threat to people’s health. More than 2,000 people have died annually in this country from heat-related illnesses in recent years, but high temperatures also pose a threat to mental health, which can also be life-threatening, including increasing the risk of suicide. NPR health correspondent Rhitu Chatterjee is here to tell us more. Hi.

RHITU CHATTERJEE, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.

SUMMERS: So, Rhitu, who’s most vulnerable to the mental health impacts of heat?

CHATTERJEE: Well, it’s mainly people who have preexisting mental health conditions. Studies show that as temperatures rise, so do visits to the emergency room by people with a range of mental health conditions, like, you know, anxiety, depression, psychotic illnesses, like schizophrenia, and even people with substance use disorders. And, you know, extreme heat is also linked to mental health-related mortality. A study that just came out this week found that for every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, there’s a 3% increase in suicide deaths among young people. Here’s study author Dr. Joshua Wortzel. He’s a psychiatrist at the Hartford HealthCare Institute of Living and runs the HEAT-MIND Lab there.

JOSHUA WORTZEL: And ultimately, we think that every summer, roughly an additional hundred young adults are dying by suicide due to increasing temperatures.

CHATTERJEE: So, you know, youth who are already at risk of suicide may be more likely to attempt during periods of intense heat.

SUMMERS: OK. And Rhitu, why are people with mental health conditions more vulnerable to these high temperatures?

CHATTERJEE: So scientists have yet to fully understand it, although they think there are a few reasons behind this. Here’s Dr. Wortzel again.

WORTZEL: A lot of patients with mental illness at baseline have difficulties regulating their temperature. So patients with depression have higher core body temperatures relative to healthy controls. There are also differences in patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder.

CHATTERJEE: And elderly people with dementia. And many psychiatric meds also affect the body’s ability to cool down, and all of this, you know, makes people much more vulnerable to heat-related health impacts. And Dr. Wortzel also told me that heat hinders communication between parts of the brain that talk to each other, and it disrupts sleep. And we know that poor sleep affects almost every mental illness.

SUMMERS: Right. So what are some ways that people with mental health conditions or substance abuse issues can stay safe as we’re experiencing all these extreme temperatures?

CHATTERJEE: Yeah. So some of the same precautions that everybody should be taking. Try and stay indoors as much as possible, in air conditioning. Also, for people on psychiatric meds, especially, talk to your doctors in advance to understand what your risks are. Read up on what heat-related symptoms can look like – things like dizziness, exhaustion, brain fog. Seek help when you’re not well and watch out for symptoms of dehydration. So, you know, one thing to remember is people consuming alcohol…

SUMMERS: Yeah.

CHATTERJEE: …And certain drugs are particularly at risk. And one of the things I heard over and over again from doctors I talked to is to tap into your social network. Really reach out to friends and neighbors and loved ones who are vulnerable and make sure they’re doing OK.

And anyone struggling with suicidal thoughts, they can text or call the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 988.

SUMMERS: NPR’s Rhitu Chatterjee, thanks so much.

CHATTERJEE: My pleasure. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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Rhitu Chatterjee

Rhitu Chatterjee is a health correspondent with NPR, with a focus on mental health. In addition to writing about the latest developments in psychology and psychiatry, she reports on the prevalence of different mental illnesses and new developments in treatments.

Chatterjee explores the underlying causes of mental health disorders – the complex web of biological, socio-economic, and cultural factors that influence how mental health problems manifest themselves in different groups – and how our society deals with the mentally ill. She has a particular interest in mental health problems faced by the most vulnerable, especially pregnant women and children, as well as racial minorities and undocumented immigrants.

Chatterjee has reported on how chronic stress from racism has a devastating impact on pregnancy outcomes in black women. She has reported on the factors that put adolescents and youth on a path to school shootings, and what some schools are doing keep them off that path. She has covered the rising rates of methamphetamine and opioid use by pregnant women, and how some cities are helping these women stay off the drugs, have healthy pregnancies, and raise their babies on their own. She has also written about the widespread levels of loneliness and lack of social connection in America and its consequences of people's physical health.

Before starting at NPR's health desk in 2018, Chatterjee was an editor for NPR's The Salt, where she edited stories about food, culture, nutrition, and agriculture. In that role, she also produced a short online food video series called "Hot Pot: A Dish, A Memory," which featured dishes from a particular country as made by a person who grew up with the dish. The series was produced in collaboration with NPR's Goats & Soda blog.

Prior to that, Chatterjee reported on current affairs from New Delhi for PRI's The World, and covered science and health news for Science Magazine. Before that, she was based in Boston as a science correspondent with PRI's The World.

Throughout her career, Chatterjee has reported on everything from basic scientific discoveries to issues at the intersection of science, society, and culture. She has covered the legacy of the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984, the world's largest industrial disaster. She has reported on a mysterious epidemic of chronic kidney disease in Sri Lanka and India. While in New Delhi, she also covered women's issues. Her reporting went beyond the breaking news headlines about sexual violence to document the underlying social pressures faced by Indian girls and women.

She has won two reporting grants from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and was awarded a certificate of merit by the Gabriel Awards in 2014.

Chatterjee has mentored student fellows by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, as well as young journalists for the Society of Environmental Journalists' mentorship program. She has also taught science writing at the Santa Fe Science Writing Workshop.

She did her undergraduate work in Darjeeling, India. She has two master's degrees—a Master of Science in biotechnology from Visva-Bharati in India, and a Master of Arts in journalism from the University of Missouri.

See stories by Rhitu Chatterjee