The rate of suicides and murders committed by family members in Italy increases by 20% when the summer heat kicks in, a renowned Italian criminologist said on Monday.
Referring to the summer as a ''terrible'' season for psychiatry wards, Francesco Bruno from Rome's La Sapienza University said there was a direct correlation between soaring temperatures and fraying tempers.
''In 2007 we registered a little fewer than 600 murders, with an average of two a day. But if we look at the hottest - and therefore most critical - periods, the average soars to between 2.2 and 2.3 murders a day,'' Bruno said.
The criminologist explained that dehydration is a major element in people losing control of their agressive impulses.
''The cerebral cortex needs a lot of water to function well. When the temperature soars, it can be a struggle to control both our destructive and auto-destructive impulses, which arrive from the deepest parts of the brain, resulting in the tragedies we read in the newspapers''.
People suffering from schizophrenia are especially at risk from losing control in hot weather, but Bruno added that ''all the psychiatric illnesses feel the heat: in summer we register an increase in the cases of depression too, especially among women''.
Bruno's comments came as Italy suffered the first crippling heatwave of the summer, with temperatures reaching 37 degrees.
But the criminologist said the heat alone can't be blamed for the increase in violent crime within the family.
''We have to remember that loneliness plays a fundamental role during the summer months too: it can make problems worse and increase the desperation of people already at risk,'' he added.
