Heat events and domestic violence linked, a new study out of New Orleans finds

A photograph of a street in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Pexels/Ken Cooper)

A new study has found that extreme heat events were “significantly” linked with a rise in domestic violence calls, with the strongest association observed during heat waves.

The study was co-authored by researchers at Tulane University’s Newcomb Institute, the Irset–Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail at the University of Rennes in France and the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Published in JAMA Network Open on Friday, the study looked at 150,523 domestic violence-related calls to the New Orleans Police Department between 2011 and 2021.

Louisiana has consistently ranked among the top 10 U.S. states for female homicide, with New Orleans experiencing a 12-year peak for domestic violence-related 911 calls in May 2023, according to the study.

Around 69.6 per cent of the 150,523 domestic violence-related calls made to the New Orleans Police Department were classified as domestic disturbance calls and 22.4 per cent were classified as simple battery, the study said.

Using climate data, the researchers found that when temperatures, after factoring in heat and humidity, were among the city’s top 10 per cent warmest days for at least five straight days, domestic violence calls rose by seven per cent.

For New Orleans, this would mean sustained temperatures of 93-100 F, or about 34-38 C.

“Extreme heat is more than a weather issue — it’s a public health and safety concern,” Anita Raj, executive director of the Newcomb Institute and senior author of the study, said in the press release. “We must treat heat preparedness as part of our violence prevention strategies.”

The data found that the strongest connection was noted during heat waves that lasted five days or longer.

This is the first known study to directly connect prolonged heat and domestic violence calls in the city, the press release read.

“Extreme heat can strain not just infrastructure, but human relationships,” Arnab Dey, lead author of the study and a scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego said. “Recognizing this link can help shape more responsive public policies.”

Meanwhile, several important limitations must be taken into account when interpreting the results. The data may be incomplete, since many domestic violence-related incidents go unreported, the researchers pointed out. The results could also change in cities with different socioeconomic structures and climate.

“Greater care in categorization of such calls could further refine the city’s efforts to combat crime and improve health outcomes as they relate to violence against women,” the study stated.