Changes in the climate are linked to an increase in social conflict and violence around the world, according to a US study by the University of California and Princeton University published in the journal Science and based on data from the six continents and collected over the last 12,000 years. The work shows that Earth's climate affects human relationships more than previously thought. Specifically, the authors detected an increase in domestic attacks in recent droughts in India and Australia, as well as an increase in crimes and rapes during the heat wave that hit the US last year.
The researchers also identified a relationship between rising temperatures and ethnic clashes in Europe and civil wars in Africa. In general, the increase in temperature always appeared related to an increase in personal violence (4%) and conflicts between groups (14%).
Although the causes of this relationship remain to be determined, the first hypotheses point to increased pressure on resources and an aggressive biological response to heat. Scientists warn that future changes in the climate will negatively affect human societies , and that if the global temperature rises 2 degrees as predicted, this could generate a considerable increase in civil wars in the world .
