Newly published: Do winter weather conditions affect anxiety? Swedish study explores the Link
While weather and climate have been linked to mental health outcomes, research on winter conditions and anxiety remains limited. A new study from Sweden examines whether wintertime meteorological factors influence anxiety symptoms later in the year.
In Nordic countries, winters are long and dark but differ between years in wintertime sunshine, rain and snow conditions. This makes wintertime weather an especially relevant topic for mental health research.
Photo: Simon Berger/Pexels
Globally, there is increasing attention to how climate and weather may influence mental health, and changes in weather patterns have been linked to various mental health outcomes, but research focusing on wintertime and anxiety is still sparse.
A new study, recently published in the International Journal of Biometeorology, addresses this gap by examining whether cumulative winter meteorological conditions in Sweden are associated with anxiety symptoms later in the year.
Contradictory to what one might think, the researchers did not find strong or definitive effects nor connections, but more research is needed.
THE STUDY IN SHORT
Study method
The study is using a longitudinal design that accounts for stable individual characteristics. Data on symptoms of anxiety was collected from 14,237 participants of the Swedish Longitudinal Survey of Health (SLOSH) who responded to surveys in spring 2016 and 2018.
Meteorological data on solar radiation, precipitation and snow days were obtained from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) and linked to participants’ municipality of residence. The exposures were aggregated over the winter months preceding the mental health assessment.
Results
The findings do not demonstrate associations between wintertime weather conditions and symptoms of anxiety and call for further research from different geographical areas and populations.
Auriba Raza, lead author of the study, comments on the results:
– We observed estimates in a direction suggesting potentially lower anxiety with higher solar radiation and precipitation, but these associations were not statistically significant. While this may seem unexpected given earlier hypotheses, it highlights the complexity of weather–mental health relationships and suggests that broad seasonal averages may not capture the most relevant exposures.
Auriba Raza. Photo: Henrik Dunér
Read the scientific article
Raza, A., Partonen, T., Magnusson Hanson, L.L. et al (2026). Longitudinal associations of meteorological parameters during winter months in Sweden with self-reported symptoms of anxiety in the spring. Int J Biometeorol. DOI: 10.1007/s00484-025-03098-w
Also read: Newly published: The snowball effect – light from snow makes us more alert
Last updated: 2026-02-13
Source: Department of Psychology