People May Get Meaner and More Violent Due to Hot Temperatures, New Research Says

When the temperature rise in the summer, there's a reason why you are more irritable. People's moods do not only depreciate in hot weather, but their predisposition for aggressiveness also grows, according to recent research.

Inmates from 36 correctional facilities were used as a reference for shifts in behavior and emotions while they were present in a heated environment. This study was conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The facility lacked air conditioning and there was a lot humidity in the facility. This made inmates' emotions pile up and be more aggressive. It was shown that the likelihood of violent events, increased on days with temperatures over 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit).

Economists' Perspective: Emotional Changes When Placed in a Hot Environment

Cornell University economists Anita Mukherjee and Nicholas J. Sanders said in an interview, "Days with unsafe heat index levels shift both the intensive and extensive margins of violence, raising daily violent interactions by 20 percent and the probability of any violence by 18 percent."

"Our setting cleanly identifies the effect of heat on violence ... Rising global temperatures could substantially increase violence absent adjustment." they added.

In 2019, a Knox psychology professor summed up most of the research on the connection between heat and aggressiveness in Psychology Today, and included his own personal experience. According to Knox, "Instead, I found myself feeling, for want of a better word, cranky. I was sweating and tired, and in general my emotional reactions to the weather were more negative than positive. This got me to reflecting a bit on how the weather-especially hot temperatures-affects our feelings and behavior."

Psychological Perspectives and In-depth Information

When the daily maximum temperature surpasses 75- and 90-degrees Fahrenheit, total crime rates are 1.72 percent and 1.90 percent higher, respectively, than on cooler days.

According to the study, crime might increase by up to 10% on exceptionally hot days. Heat increase has long been related to a fraying of tempers, according to theory. Irritability is also on the rise, especially when it comes to interpersonal relationships. While other factors have a role, the researchers in Los Angeles discovered that "the increase in crime is not a result of less policing."

To summarize: When it gets hot, people become meaner.

The internal temperature of a healthy human body is about 37°C. The time of day, amount of physical activity, and mental state all influence temperature variations of less than 1°C. Only sickness or environmental conditions that exceed the body's ability to cope with severe heat, cause a shift in body temperature of more than 1°C.

When the environment warms up, the body warms up as well. The body's inbuilt "thermostat" maintains a constant inner body temperature by pumping more blood to the skin and raising sweat production. The body boosts the rate of heat escape in this way, to balance the heat burden. In an excessively hot environment, when the rate of "heat intake" exceeds the rate of "heat loss," the body temperature begins to rise. A rise in body temperature causes stress and tempers to change rapidly.