Extreme Heat and Calls to Law Enforcement Related to Domestic Violence

Is extreme heat exposure associated with increased domestic violence–related calls to the New Orleans Police Department?In this cross-sectional study of 150 523 domestic violence–related calls from 2011 to 2021 aggregated at the zip code day level, extreme heat events were significantly associated with increased domestic violence calls. The strongest association was observed for heat waves defined using percentile-based thresholds that lasted for 5 or more consecutive days.This study suggests that climate adaptation strategies should be integrated with violence prevention efforts during extreme heat events to reduce the risk of domestic violence.

Corresponding Author: Arnab K. Dey, PhD, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 8885 Biological Grade, La Jolla, CA 92037 (akdey@ucsd.edu).

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