We all complain when it gets too hot, whether it means running extra air conditioning, working outdoors during peak sun, or only having indoor fans for cooling off.

Now, a new study links climate change’s impact on temperatures to suicide rates. It appears that something much more significant than discomfort is associated with soaring heat.

Although we all complain, heat waves disproportionately affect the elderly, poor and homeless populations. Chicago’s 1995 heat wave was one of the first times it was widely acknowledged that rising temperatures impact populations in unpredictable ways.

During five days that summer, there were approximately 750 heat-related deaths among the elderly poor population. These heat deaths spread all the way to St. Louis and Milwaukee, causing alarm and creating much-needed attention to the need for outreach during unusual climate events.

Now there’s news that rising temperatures also increase suicide rates, according to a new Nature Climate Change study. To summarize, "authors predict that approximately 14,000 people in the U.S. — and as many as 26,000 — could die by suicide by the year 2050 if global temperatures continue rising, even after controlling for every other major variable that could affect suicide rates."

These conclusions prove what many concerned climate change prevention advocates suggest: there are complex effects on populations suffering from rising temperatures. This particular data set came from studying the U.S. and Mexico — two countries that make up 7 percent of world suicide rates.

Currently, the World Health Organization estimates that 800,000 people commit suicide annually, and suicide is the second greatest cause of death for young people ages 15-29. Suicide is already a public health crisis, and with this additional information, it’s clear the issue will not disappear.

The science behind the study is also interesting. A correlation between internal moods and external temperatures can be explained by considering how neurotransmitters "are important in both mental health and in how the body regulates its internal temperature...there’s a plausible biological linkage between temperature, thermal regulation and how the brain regulates its own emotion."

Research shows that when the body overheats there are unique responses. For example, another recent study found a correlation between rising temperatures and antisocial behavior.

This is explained by linking heat to fatigue and dehydration, resulting in the inability to empathize with others. That lack of connection to others could lead to depression. In extreme circumstances, chronic depression leads to the extreme gesture of suicide.

The Nature Climate Change study demarcates clear connections between heat and suicidal ideation; it also uses "geo-located Twitter data" to correlate temperature increases to "specific depressive keywords in tweets." Apparently, people are more likely to tweet their own discomfort when the temperature rises.

Previous studies linking suicide rates to natural disasters loom in the background of this study. After Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, suicide rates increased. Suicides tripled in the post-Katrina climate and they are rumored to have increased almost 30 percent after Maria.

It’s almost a no-brainer that there’s suicide-related despondency after a natural disaster, since disasters rapidly introduce new conditions such as damaged infrastructure and food insecurity.

What’s different about this new study is that suicide is linked to climate change temperatures directly, not just catastrophic weather events — such as the aftermath of a hurricane.

For anyone seeking yet another reason to advocate for climate change prevention measures now, you can add mental health problems to the growing list of symptoms as we experience dramatic weather events and rising temperatures around the world.