Heatwave anxiety can make you feel 'incredibly helpless' - here's how to manage it
Rising temperatures and heatwaves are increasingly causing 'climate anxiety' among the UK population, particularly affecting women and young people. Experts note that this form of mental distress is becoming a recognized issue as extreme weather events become more frequent.
Why it matters
It highlights the growing intersection between climate change and public mental health, a rising concern for healthcare systems.
Image source, Tavia Watts Image caption, Mum-of-two Tavia Watts, 36, says the heat leaves her feeling "like the world is literally ending"
At the peak of the June heatwave, the warmest June on record in England, all Tavia Watts could think about was how hot it was in her two- and five-year-old's bedroom - above 30C in some cases.
"During the heatwave, I've got a high level of anxiety all the time and I'm pretty much useless," she told the BBC. "I've had to leave bedtime when my husband reads [my kids] stories to have a little cry and to calm down, because it's just too hot in their room and I'm afraid for them."
Feeling "incredibly helpless", the 36-year-old posted a short reel to her hundreds of followers on Instagram, in which she voiced her inner anxieties. To her surprise, it got more than 18,000 likes and 1,700 reposts.
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