The warming world's going to make most of us unhappier, but some more so than others

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-08-21 01:00

Australia; New Zealand; International

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Daily highs above 35°C worsen our emotional wellbeing, say researchers who analysed 1.2 billion social media posts from over 150 countries to understand the impact of rising temperatures on the sentiments people expressed. They also modelled the emotional impact of projected warming by 2100, finding it affects poorer countries three times as much as richer ones. The results show little change for Aotearoa but worsening sentiment in parts of Australia, and an average drop in emotional wellbeing globally. The study authors say it's important to factor these subtle but widespread psychological effects of extreme temperatures into climate adaptation policy.