A Link Between Climate Change and Increased Suicides

Newly published research published in Nature entitled "Higher temperatures increase suicide rates in the United States and Mexico" by Burke et al. there may be a link between higher temperatures and an increase in the rate of suicides in the U.S. and Mexico. Analyzing data from the past few decades, it was found that when the average monthly temperature rose by 1°C, suicides rose by 0.7 percent in the States and an even more alarming 2.1 percent in Mexico.

While the paper is careful to point out that the relationship may not be causal, another study from last July also estimated that 59,300 suicides in India over the past 30 years may also have been linked to climate change and a jump in temperatures. In that case, the main reason posited was the resulting stress placed on those in the agriculture industry due to crop damage.