Global Health Seminar - Beyond the heat: The mental health toll of temperature and humidity in India

Event details

Abstract

Evidence on the heat-mental health nexus remains mixed. I show that this can be
partly explained by previous studies focusing solely on temperature while neglecting
temperature-humidity interactions. Using a measure that considers both indicators
(wet bulb temperature), I assess the causal link between extreme heat and mental
health, and its heterogeneity across socioeconomic indicators. I combine self-
reported depression and anxiety levels from three Indian WHO-SAGE survey waves
with climate data, leveraging quasi-random variation in heat exposure due to survey
timing and location. The results reveal that extreme heat increases the risk of
depression but not of anxiety. Importantly, these effects are consistently smaller
when humidity is not considered. Finally, the study provides evidence that the District
Mental Health Program plays a protective role in mitigating adverse mental health
effects. The findings suggest that the costs induced by climate change need to
account for the economic consequences of deteriorated mental health.

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