Policy brief on protecting mental health from extreme heat: Recommendations for policy and action
Categories: Heat-Health Adaptation Plan (HHAP), Climate-informed health programmes, Climate-related emergency preparedness and management, Heat and cold
Online
photo credit: WHO / Kamil Kzihnioglu Date/TIme: 29 July 2026 14:00 (CEST)
The world is warming at a rapid pace. In 2024, the global surface temperature was 1.5°C warmer than it was during the latter half of the 19th century.
Extreme heat can impact our mental health, from worsening our sleep to making people living with pre-existing mental health conditions more vulnerable.
Given these rising impacts, how can policies protect the mental health of people and communities around the world from the impacts of extreme heat?
United for Global Mental Health, together with Climate Cares (at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London) and SPARK Lab NYC (at Columbia University) is launching a policy brief that aims to:
(i) provide a snapshot of the extent to which and how mental health is covered within heat action plans.
(ii) use concrete case studies to show how mental health has been successfully integrated into heat action plans.
(iii) offer practical recommendations developed by global experts for policymakers working on heat action plans to better consider mental health and vice-versa.
The current webinar will introduce the policy brief and highlight examples of successful integration of mental health into heat action plans.
