Divergence between physical and emotional heat resilience in Chinese cities

Using social media and meteorological data, this study quantifies the mismatch between physical heat exposure and public emotional responses from 2010 to 2024 in China, identify its drivers and project this relationship under different shared socioeconomic pathways. Under increasingly frequent urban heatwaves, public emotional responses do not always align with levels of physical heat exposure, but the relationship between the two remains unclear.

The results show that 84.9% of cities suffered high-intensity emotional shocks, substantially exceeding the 52.1% facing severe physical exposure, with underdeveloped regions showing especially prolonged emotional recovery. Physical resilience is mainly driven by socioeconomic and land-cover factors, while emotional resilience is more sensitive to the intensity and characteristics of heat events. The projections indicate that emotional responses declined about 26% faster than physical heat exposure over 2025–2050. The identified mismatch offers a scientific basis for differentiated heat-action planning to address physical and emotional vulnerabilities.