Temperature rising is threatening adolescent mental health in China

Climate change impacts human health throughout the human life cycle. Previous studies have confirmed that climate change, particularly temperature fluctuations, significantly affects adults’ mental health. However, studies regarding the impact on adolescents are still lacking. This is particularly worrying because adolescents may be more susceptible to the effects of ambient temperature than adults due to their physical and emotional immaturity and vulnerability. In this paper, we found that exposure to higher average temperatures over the past 1 month to the past 12 months worsened adolescents’ mental health, measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, using data from 2010 to 2014 China Family Panel Studies. This effect is robust to alternative measures of mental health. In addition, subgroup analyses suggest that younger adolescents and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds may be more vulnerable to temperature changes. We recommend developing public policies to help adolescents adapt to temperature changes, particularly for younger adolescents and those from underprivileged families.