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The Impact of Hot Weather on Social Behaviors

Yes, even people are impacted by the temperature.

It is pretty basic. When do the worst riots ever happen? Hot weather in the summer has seen the most riots in my memory. Events combined with boiling temperatures can make people also “boil over.”

See the series being offered below. While we are approaching fall now, “summer is coming!”

Watch, or I should say listen, to a future Disaster Zone podcast on this topic coming soon.

Climate Informed Security and Emergency Management

Climate change must be on the mind of every security, emergency management, and business continuity professional. As the temperature rises, so does the risk of aggression and violence. For professionals in any discipline related to safety and security, this will be a growing concern as the planet continues to warm.

Studies have demonstrated a linear relationship that directly ties escalating temperatures to escalating violence with assault rates peaking at the highest temperatures. In hot weather, people are more likely to misread neutral signals as signs of hostility and less likely to avoid or condemn violence. When people are overheated, they simply have trouble thinking straight; there is notable cognitive disruption and distortion that can lead to poor problem-solving and overreactions to perceived threats.

The Fall 2022 Homeland Security Human Factors Institute will provide four new programs addressing various aspects of the climate-violence nexus. Anyone involved in disciplines related to safety and security, emergency management, and business continuity must begin to anticipate the behavioral consequences of climate change; they will be some of the greatest challenges we will face.

Oct 6 | Climate-Informed Security & Emergency Management
Oct 13 | Climate-Informed Workplace Violence Prevention
Oct 20 | Climate-Informed Threat Assessment & Management
Oct 27 | Climate-Informed Operational Stress Control

Participants can register for a single session or the entire 4-part series to receive the program certificate and a 10% discount. All sessions are broadcast live and recorded for convenience on-demand viewing. All classes are approved for ASIS International CPE credits.

The changing climate will affect every part of our personal and professional lives. It has direct, demonstrable impacts on human behavior take must be anticipated. Leaders and decision-makers cannot afford to get behind the curve in preparing for this reality. Now is the time to adopt a climate-informed approach to managing the risks ahead.

Registration is now open! Register today https://lnkd.in/eBxybrxV
Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.