Miami already has the highest percentage of seriously mentally ill citizens compared to any other city in America. Miami is also likely to see the largest rise in so-called deadly heat days due to climate change by the year 2100.
And now a new study from Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers warns that climate-change-related heat will probably cause mental-health crises across the nation. The study doesn't address Miami specifically, but it's fair to say the results bode poorly for the Magic City in particular.
"Short-term exposure to more extreme weather, multiyear warming, and tropical cyclone exposure each associate with worsened mental health," the researchers state.
According to the study, every one-degree rise in global temperatures increases the risk of mental-health crises by 2 percent. Likewise, natural disasters, such as major hurricanes and floods, lead to a 4 percent jump in mental-crisis risk. Increases in average monthly temperatures to more than 86 degrees Fahrenheit were associated with a 0.5 percent increase in the probability of mental-health issues, as did months with at least 25 days of precipitation. Good thing Miami is neither hot nor wet!
This map the researchers put together does not seem promising. Check out how Florida lights up bright red when it comes to projected heat-wave days by 2099.
The MIT study is merely the latest in a long chain of reports warning that global warming might cook the world's brains into insanity. The study also comes barely 24 hours after the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a landmark report warning every country needs to drastically scale back carbon emissions by 2030 and cut those emissions to zero by 2050, lest humanity will be forced to live in catastrophic conditions.
The report specifically warned that, if the globe sees more than 2 degrees Celsius of average warming, Miami will probably be leveled by hurricane storm surge on steroids. Also bad: The UN acknowledges that hitting its target of just 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming will require a herculean, "unprecedented" effort of governmental action and coordination. Meanwhile, Donald Trump, who once spelled the word "tap" with two p's, is president.
Previous studies have also warned that Miami will basically cook by the year 2100. In June 2017, scientists estimated the Magic City could see more than 200 "deadly heat" days per year by the end of the century. While other areas of America are sure to heat up over the next 80 years, Miami is set to face a unique, deadly combination of heat and humidity. No other city is projected to see quite the same spike in temperatures — and it turns out that, in addition to killing us, the heat might also cause an unprecedented wave of mental illness in South Florida.
Source: miaminewtimes.com
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