{"id":845120,"date":"2026-08-06T03:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T03:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/845120\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T03:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T03:00:17","slug":"climate-change-may-be-making-us-lonelier-how-heat-waves-and-extreme-weather-disrupt-social-connections-everyone-relies-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/845120\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate change may be making us lonelier: How heat waves and extreme weather disrupt social connections everyone relies on"},"content":{"rendered":"

Severe storms, heat waves and wildfires can shut down the social life of a community, flooding out festivals<\/a>, canceling community events<\/a> and keeping people indoors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re also evidence of how climate change isn\u2019t just changing the environments we all live in, but also impeding our ability to connect with one another.<\/p>\n

Around the world, social connection is increasingly recognized as essential to individual and collective well-being<\/a>. It keeps our brains active and can lower stress levels<\/a>. During emergencies, social ties can also save lives. Relationships are conduits for timely information sharing, mutual aid and collective action<\/a>. When temperatures soar, friends and neighbors share heat warnings, check on older adults or other community members<\/a> who may need help, and coordinate community cooling shelters when formal systems are overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

Yet, the effects of climate change may be weakening the very social fabric that helps communities thrive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As extreme weather becomes more common and disruptive, the effects can impair relationships, interrupt routines and communication, and damage gathering places and the foundations of community traditions.<\/p>\n

As an assistant professor of social work at the University of Tennessee<\/a>, I study converging social and environmental crises, including social disconnection and extreme weather. I\u2019ve found that one of climate change\u2019s most overlooked impacts may be its ability to worsen the continuing loneliness epidemic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Studies show the amount of time Americans spent interacting with friends and family in person was declining even before the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> shut down a lot of social interaction starting in 2020. My team\u2019s recent research in rural Appalachia<\/a> has found several ways that extreme weather is further hindering social activities.<\/p>\n

Extreme weather keeps people apart<\/p>\n

Extreme heat has dominated global headlines this summer<\/a>. When outdoor temperatures become dangerous, people retreat indoors<\/a> to stay in air conditioning or near electric fans. This can come with a social cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t remember it being this hot growing up,\u201d one 28-year-old social worker told my research team. \u201cPeople don\u2019t want to leave their house if it\u2019s that hot. People don\u2019t want to go to community events and be out in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Khristina Meissner, right, and nurse practitioner Jen Felter check on residents in Swannanoa, N.C., after Hurricane Helene\u2019s flooding in October 2024. While the residents\u2019 apartments might have survived the storm, flooding made reaching medical care and many other resources, friends and family much harder.
\n Mario Tama\/Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n

Severe storms and flooding can make travel unsafe or impossible<\/a>, preventing people from leaving their homes, reaching family or attending social gatherings. These disruptions can erode the everyday interactions that help people feel connected.<\/p>\n

Power outages sever communication<\/p>\n

Extreme weather can also cut off the communication channels that help people stay connected. Severe storms, flooding, winter weather and extreme heat are all associated with power outages, which can leave residents without electricity, sometimes for weeks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Electricity failures are often coupled with internet and cellular service interruptions, hindering communication via text messaging, phone calls, social media and email at precisely the time it\u2019s needed most.<\/p>\n

As one 74-year-old rural resident explained to my team: \u201cWe\u2019re so isolated. We do not have any cellphone service other than through Wi-Fi. So when the power\u2019s out, we have no cellphone service \u2026 without your phone, you really lose all your connections.\u201d<\/p>\n

The loss of shared places and traditions<\/p>\n

Another way climate change can weaken social connection is by altering places and traditions<\/a> that hold cultural and community significance.<\/p>\n

I witnessed this firsthand when Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee hit my hometown<\/a> of Cherry Valley, New York, in 2011. After floodwaters broke the dike, a treasured community place known as \u201cthe reservoir\u201d \u2013 a small lake where families swam and picnicked \u2013 was emptied, leaving our rural community without one of its few gathering spaces.<\/p>\n

\"People<\/a><\/p>\n

Extreme weather can flood parks and dry up lakes, such as Lake Hope in Vinton County, Ohio. This image was captured by a resident who often visited the lake with her two small children. Like many others, the water levels in Lake Hope dropped significantly during Ohio\u2019s record drought in 2024.
\n Doherty, et al., 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

In my team\u2019s Appalachian study, residents described how an extreme drought paired with prolonged heat affected places where people gather, share traditions and maintain connections across generations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Water levels in lakes and rivers dropped too low for recreation, wildfires swept through the Wayne National Forest, and crop losses meant fewer of the region\u2019s beloved pawpaw fruit when the annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival<\/a> arrived. <\/p>\n

A 68-year-old resident told us: \u201cI look around and it\u2019s just absolutely horrible. Our streams have gone dry. I had a friend drop off some pawpaws the other night and pitiful \u2026 nothing like what normally drops. It\u2019s really bad and I suspect this is going to continue. We\u2019ve got to figure something out.\u201d <\/p>\n

This kind of degradation of cherished places and traditions can threaten shared experiences that help communities stay connected. <\/p>\n

These disaster often overlap<\/p>\n

These fractures of social connection often overlap as communities face increasingly frequent co-occurring weather events<\/a>. A severe storm, for instance, may trigger flooding and power outages during a heat wave, disrupting transportation and communication during dangerously hot temperatures. <\/p>\n

Over time, frequent and consecutive weather hazards can weaken relationships by limiting mobility and social engagement.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

A heat wave, with temperatures over 100 degrees, shut down the Washington Monument and temporarily closed the American State Fair on the National Mall on July 3, 2026, over public health concerns.
\n Kevin Carter\/Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n

People who are already socially isolated, including older adults and those living in rural areas or lacking reliable transportation and internet access, are often most vulnerable<\/a>. Climate change and extreme weather can leave them even more isolated<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Keeping social connection amid disasters<\/p>\n

As global temperatures rise, driven in large part by the burning of fossil fuels, climate change increasingly affects daily life<\/a>. Social connection is crucial, both for responding to extreme weather and for working together to help the entire community adapt to a changing climate.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

The Athens County library in Coolville, Ohio, is aptly named \u2013 it can serve as a cooling center during heat waves.
\n Fiona Doherty, CC BY-ND<\/a><\/p>\n

One promising way forward<\/a> is for cities and counties to invest in community hubs, such as public libraries, or create new gathering spaces across communities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These spaces can bolster social connection year-round by hosting inclusive lifelong learning activities<\/a> while also serving as cooling shelters and climate resilience hubs<\/a>, providing resources to help residents prepare for disasters, phone-charging stations when power goes out elsewhere<\/a>, and an internet connection.<\/p>\n

In an era of accelerating climate disruption, social connection may be a community\u2019s greatest asset, and yet one of its most fragile resources to protect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Severe storms, heat waves and wildfires can shut down the social life of a community, flooding out festivals,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":845121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,128],"class_list":["post-845120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}