Increasing ambient temperature reduces emotional well-being
Files
Accepted manuscript
Supplementary data
Date
2016-11
Authors
Noelke, Clemens
McGovern, Mark
Corsi, Daniel J.
Jimenez, Marcia P.
Stern, Ari
Sue Wing, Ian
Berkman, Lisa
Version
Published version
OA Version
Citation
Clemens Noelke, Mark McGovern, Daniel J. Corsi, Marcia P. Jimenez, Ari Stern, Ian Sue Wing, Lisa Berkman. 2016. "Increasing ambient temperature reduces emotional well-being." Environmental Research, Volume 151, pp. 124 - 129.
Abstract
This study examines the impact of ambient temperature on emotional well-being in the U.S. population aged 18+. The U.S. is an interesting test case because of its resources, technology and variation in climate across different areas, which also allows us to examine whether adaptation to different climates could weaken or even eliminate the impact of heat on well-being. Using survey responses from 1.9 million Americans over the period from 2008 to 2013, we estimate the effect of temperature on well-being from exogenous day-to-day temperature variation within respondents’ area of residence and test whether this effect varies across areas with different climates. We find that increasing temperatures significantly reduce well-being. Compared to average daily temperatures in the 50–60 °F (10–16 °C) range, temperatures above 70 °F (21 °C) reduce positive emotions (e.g. joy, happiness), increase negative emotions (e.g. stress, anger), and increase fatigue (feeling tired, low energy). These effects are particularly strong among less educated and older Americans. However, there is no consistent evidence that heat effects on well-being differ across areas with mild and hot summers, suggesting limited variation in heat adaptation.
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License
Copyright © 2016 Elsevier
This is an open access article published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits distribution and reproduction for non-commercial purposes, provided the
author and source are cited.