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      Scientific Survey Reveals Climate Change Is Making Us More Violent

      Trending News: Scientific Survey Reveals Climate Change Is Making Us More Violent

      Why Is This Important?

      The effects of climate change could be more widespread and more damaging than previously thought, according to a new report.

      Long Story Short

      Researchers from Stanford have found a solid link between rises in temperature and increased levels of conflict within a region after analyzing 56 different studies for correlations. If the academics' predictions prove to be true then we'll soon have a growing violence problem to worry about — as well as a changing climate.

      Long Story

      We're used to hearing about the damaging effects of climate change on the world around us, but there's a new consequence to consider that you might not have thought of before: increasing levels of violence.

      Stanford researchers have analyzed the findings of more than 50 recent studies to uncover a strong link between higher temperatures and higher levels of conflict, whether wars between nations or fistfights between neighbors.

      Marshall Burke, who headed up the study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, said that even a small rise of one degree Celsius in Africa could cause a 20 percent increase in civil conflict. The correlation varies in different areas — a one degree rise in the United States would only lead to a one percent rise in conflict, for example — but the overall trend is always the same: a changing climate means greater strife.

      In fact, there's nothing new about the link between hotter weather and increased levels of aggression: Academics have long been able to find correlations between heatwaves and increases in crime, for example. "Heat changes the way people feel and think, increasing anger and making thoughts of aggression increase," Professor Richard Larrick told the Washington Post. Larrick has been responsible for several studies linking temperature and temper.

      Burke and his colleagues are eager to insist that this is very much a background trend, so we don't automatically feel compelled to pick fights whenever the sun comes out.

      There are many other contributing factors, but the environmental conditions appear to be a major one. "We believe there is overwhelming evidence of a strong relationship between changes in temperature in particular, and various types of human conflicts," Burke says.

      There's a strong chance that climate change is going to leave us with a world that has less space and less food to go around, so we're likely to see more belligerence even without the rising temperatures. If the studies that Burke and his colleagues have drawn upon turn out to be right in their findings, it's yet another reason to pull back from the brink as fast as we possibly can.

      Own The Conversation

      Ask The Big Question: Can climate change still be stopped or should we be looking to limit its impact instead?

      Disrupt Your Feed: Even the sophisticated modern technology of today stands little chance against the powers of a changing natural world.

      Drop This Fact: A 2011 study found that the same effect applies to baseball: Warmer weather leads to more retaliation on the field.

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