Sparshi Srivastava

This paper examines the short-term effects of temperature on mental health using variations in local temperatures and real-time data on individual mental health crisis conversations collected by the Crisis Text Line (CTL), a national text message-based crisis hotline. We find that daily average temperatures beyond 30°C (86 °F) lead to an 8 percent increase in the volume of crisis conversations relative to temperatures between 18 and 21°C (64.4 to 69.8° F). This rise is observed across a range of crisis topics, including depression, anxiety, and suicide. We also find that the magnitude of the association with higher temperatures increases with the severity of the crisis event. Because CTL users are predominantly young, these results offer important insights into the effects of temperature on the mental health of younger populations

We provide evidence on the role of environmental exposures in shaping weight-related goals, behaviors, and outcomes. Using data from the 1991-2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and an identification strategy leveraging temperature deviations from local seasonal norms, we show that adults were less likely to report trying to lose weight, dieting to lose weight, and exercising to lose weight when temperatures fell below 20-25°C (68-77°F). We then show that temperature increases were associated with increases in respondents’ weekly servings of fruits and vegetables and the number of minutes they spent engaged in moderate or vigorous physical activity. Despite these behavioral changes, we find no evidence of a relationship between temperature and BMI

This project focuses on the effects of high temperatures on the cognitive performance of older adults in India. We use the data from the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI), similar to the Health and Retirement Survey in the US. The survey includes a range of tests to assess the cognitive function of the participants. Preliminary results of our analysis suggest that increases in contemporaneous temperatures – measured as daily maximum temperature – reduce individual’s ability to recall the place, date, time, and words as well as count backward from 20 and the results are concentrated in rural areas. It matters because India’s population is aging rapidly, and rural residents are more exposed and vulnerable to extreme heat than in urban areas. While much of the existing literature focuses on the effects of
temperature on the cognitive abilities of younger populations, our evidence shows that it also erodes the cognitive health of older populations, an underexplored channel through which a rise in temperature can worsen inequality and strain social and health systems.