How can we respond to extreme heat and its effect on mental health?​

We know how extreme heat impacts us physically, but science is still uncovering its effects on mental health.

Professor Andrea Mechelli tells Alisha Wainwright what analysing millions of datapoints is teaching us, we hear from participants in his London-based research about their struggles with heat and mental health, and Mete Çoban, London's Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, talks about efforts to future-proof the city. Looking beyond London, Dr Benedict Weobong explains why his research in Ghana and Zimbabwe shows that local context is crucial for dealing with heat-related mental health issues, and Alisha explores how reconnecting with nature - and each other - could also help us tackle the causes of rising heat.

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Mentioned in this episode and further reading:

• Prof. Andrea Mechelli's Substack on how nature and climate shape our mental health: https://andreamechelli.substack.com/

• The effects of extreme heat events on mental health in vulnerable urban communities: towards evidence-based policy and practice (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/the-effects-of-extreme-heat-events-on-mental-health-in-vulnerable-urban-communities-towards-evidence-based-policy-and-practice)

• Urban Mind – an app that measures your experience of urban & rural living in the moment (https://urbanmind.info/)

• Heat Exposure, Sleep, Cognition and Mental Health - HEATSCAPE-Africa (https://www.yorku.ca/dighr/project/heatscape-africa/)