Tomaz Silva/Agência BrasilIntense heatwave in the city of Rio de Janeiro, November 2023Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil
Do you struggle to stay in a good mood in the sweltering heat? You are not alone, according to researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, who analyzed 1.2 billion Twitter and Weibo posts from 157 countries in 2019. In low-income countries, the emotional impact is particularly severe, with 25% reporting negative feelings when temperatures rise above 35 degrees Celsius. In wealthier countries, negative feelings were expressed by 8% of people. “This underscores the importance of incorporating adaptation into future climate impact projections,” Chinese environmental engineer Yichun Fan of Duke University, USA, told the MIT News website. Based on climate models—even including adaptations to rising global temperatures—the researchers predict a 2.3% decline in people’s well-being by 2100, based solely on the increasing heat. The reality may be even worse, they warn, because those most vulnerable, such as children and the elderly, are less likely to use social media (One Earth, August 21).
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