When it gets record-breakingly hot, mental health hotlines get slammed. High heat is a literal trigger for a psychological crisis.
March 27, 2026
Original Paper
Mental Health Support Seeking Behaviour During Hot Weather: Daily Time-Series Regression Analysis of Almost 2 Million Calls Made to NHS Mental Health Hotlines in England
SSRN · 6463731
The Takeaway
Analyzing 2 million calls, researchers found that mental health crises spike within just three days of temperature rises. This demonstrates that heat is not just an environmental issue, but a direct, measurable driver of demand for critical social and mental health infrastructure.
From the abstract
Background: A growing body of evidence shows that extremes of ambient temperature negatively affect mental health, a problem likely to worsen with climate change. However, little is known about whether people increasingly seek mental health support at higher temperatures. <div> <br> </div> <div> Methods: Through Freedom-of-Information requests to NHS Mental Health Trusts in England we received the daily number of calls to their mental health hotline. Using time-series regression methods applying