The hotter Earth gets, the greater your risk of a violent death, new research shows

When it's hot there's a higher chance of being fatally hurt, according to a new report.

The report published in the Nature Medicine Journal revealed there's a rise in the number of drownings, fatal car crashs, assaults and suicides when the temperature increases.

Scientists studied 38 years of injury data from the United States when compiling the report.

Auckland University professor Shanthi Ameratunga peer-reviewed the research and says people's behaviour changes when it's unusually hot.

“People don't think, or function as clearly and certainly perform complex tasks like driving and even swimming less well than they usually do,” she told 1 NEWS.

The study found an unseasonal 1.5-degree rise in temperature could see an increase in the number of fatal injuries of just under one per cent.

Based on ACC's 2019 claim data, that could mean around seven more people would die of fatal injuries in New Zealand a year.

It's sobering news as the world heats up - last year the second hottest on record - and with unseasonal temperature fluctuations set to increase.