Slide 5 Climate change can profoundly affect our mental health
Understanding and managing the mental health impacts from climate variability and change are growing fields of research, providing evidence of effects such as stress, trauma, depression, and suicide. Climate can negatively impact our mental health through catastrophic events, rising sea levels or high temperatures, or indirectly through distress about future changes. It can affect anyone, but particularly those in vulnerable conditions. These mental health impacts can be addressed by explicitly including them in health systems, city planning, ecosystem and biodiversity conservation and protection, and by promoting access to natural areas and addressing social and environmental justice.
Understanding and managing the mental health impacts from climate variability and change are growing fields of research, providing evidence of effects such as stress, trauma, depression, and suicide. Climate can negatively impact our mental health through catastrophic events, rising sea levels or high temperatures, or indirectly through distress about future changes. It can affect anyone, but particularly those in vulnerable conditions. These mental health impacts can be addressed by explicitly including them in health systems, city planning, ecosystem and biodiversity conservation and protection, and by promoting access to natural areas and addressing social and environmental justice.
Key new insights
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  • Climate change can directly and indirectly adversely affect mental health over short and longer time scales. Growing evidence suggests the overall burden of mental health impacts of climate variability is high and will increase with additional climate change.
  • Cascading and compounding risks are contributing to anxiety and distress.
  • The mental health consequences of climate variability and change can affect anyone but disproportionately affects those suffering from health inequities.
  • The promotion and conservation of blue and green spaces within urban planning policies as well as the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity in natural environments have health co-benefits and provide resilience.
Key new insights
Image
  • Climate change can directly and indirectly adversely affect mental health over short and longer time scales. Growing evidence suggests the overall burden of mental health impacts of climate variability is high and will increase with additional climate change.
  • Cascading and compounding risks are contributing to anxiety and distress.
  • The mental health consequences of climate variability and change can affect anyone but disproportionately affects those suffering from health inequities.
  • The promotion and conservation of blue and green spaces within urban planning policies as well as the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity in natural environments have health co-benefits and provide resilience.
Climate change can directly and indirectly adversely affect mental health

Climate change is contributing directly to increased injuries, illnesses, and deaths from climate-sensitive health outcomes, with health risks projected to increase as temperatures, precipitation, and other variables continue to change. There is growing evidence that changing climatic conditions are adversely affecting mental health, including increased risk of stress, clinical disorders (trauma, anxiety, PTSD, or depression), and can even result in increased risk of suicide. Mental health impacts can last for years after an extreme event, and be transmitted to later generations.

Mental disorders and substance-use disorders account for 5–10% of national disease burdens, with women nearly twice as likely as men to suffer from mental illness. Mental and addictive disorders affect more than 1 billion people globally. Growing public awareness of the current impacts and future risks of changing climate and weather patterns could undermine mental health also for those not directly affected by climate-related disaster, especially among youth concerned about the future. Indirect mental health impacts include eco-anxiety, ecological grief, biospheric concern, and solastalgia (distress caused by the experience of environmental change).

Cascading and compounding risks are contributing to anxiety and distress

Cascading and compounding risks across spatial and temporal scales are amplifying the impacts of these events and adversely affecting mental health. Wildfires, rising sea levels, coastal erosion, deforestation, and thawing permafrost will contribute to relocation, displacement, and migration away from vulnerable sites. Population displacement heightens psychosocial risks as community networks, livelihoods, and place attachment are disrupted.

There is growing governmental acknowledgment of the magnitude of the burden of mental health impacts. In Pacific Island countries, climate-sensitive health risks of high priority include trauma from extreme weather events and psychosocial impacts linked to emerging and anticipated climate change impacts. For example, a study of climate change and distress in the country of Tuvalu found that climate change and the threat it portends for the future is a determinant of distress among residents of Funafuti atoll. In Canada, the 2013 Southern Alberta flood resulted in long-term mental health impacts.

A proactive approach to mental health would increase health and climate resilience

Health systems need to proactively plan to include mental health support for people affected by climaterelated disasters. This can be achieved by implementing international agreements around mental health support for affected populations, people on the move, as well as those “left behind.” Further, climate mental health specialists can be trained to provide trauma-informed care for mental distress. One example is supporting those staying in temporary shelters for prolonged periods of time – if shelters are even available – when living spaces are damaged or destroyed.

Further research is required to advance understanding of the causal associations and attributions between climate change – including disasters – and mental health consequences, and what the most effective solutions are. Social and environmental justice concerns need to be addressed as well: to improve communication and outreach; increase mental health literacy; and develop culturally relevant resources. Mental health and well-being and emotional resiliency can be improved when there is an extreme event or disaster, especially by focusing interventions on disproportionately affected groups.

The promotion and conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity, and blue and green spaces have health co-benefits
Measures to protect and strengthen blue and green spaces (accessible open-water surfaces or green spaces), not least those with rich ecosystems and high biodiversity, are important as these are associated with short- and longer term positive mental health and well-being outcomes. These spaces can reduce risk factors for climate-related disasters and extreme events and enhance people’s quality of life. Such measures are fundamental components of climate-resilient development and have multiple benefits, for human health and the health of our natural environment.
Climate change can directly and indirectly adversely affect mental health

Climate change is contributing directly to increased injuries, illnesses, and deaths from climate-sensitive health outcomes, with health risks projected to increase as temperatures, precipitation, and other variables continue to change. There is growing evidence that changing climatic conditions are adversely affecting mental health, including increased risk of stress, clinical disorders (trauma, anxiety, PTSD, or depression), and can even result in increased risk of suicide. Mental health impacts can last for years after an extreme event, and be transmitted to later generations.

Mental disorders and substance-use disorders account for 5–10% of national disease burdens, with women nearly twice as likely as men to suffer from mental illness. Mental and addictive disorders affect more than 1 billion people globally. Growing public awareness of the current impacts and future risks of changing climate and weather patterns could undermine mental health also for those not directly affected by climate-related disaster, especially among youth concerned about the future. Indirect mental health impacts include eco-anxiety, ecological grief, biospheric concern, and solastalgia (distress caused by the experience of environmental change).

Cascading and compounding risks are contributing to anxiety and distress

Cascading and compounding risks across spatial and temporal scales are amplifying the impacts of these events and adversely affecting mental health. Wildfires, rising sea levels, coastal erosion, deforestation, and thawing permafrost will contribute to relocation, displacement, and migration away from vulnerable sites. Population displacement heightens psychosocial risks as community networks, livelihoods, and place attachment are disrupted.

There is growing governmental acknowledgment of the magnitude of the burden of mental health impacts. In Pacific Island countries, climate-sensitive health risks of high priority include trauma from extreme weather events and psychosocial impacts linked to emerging and anticipated climate change impacts. For example, a study of climate change and distress in the country of Tuvalu found that climate change and the threat it portends for the future is a determinant of distress among residents of Funafuti atoll. In Canada, the 2013 Southern Alberta flood resulted in long-term mental health impacts.

A proactive approach to mental health would increase health and climate resilience

Health systems need to proactively plan to include mental health support for people affected by climaterelated disasters. This can be achieved by implementing international agreements around mental health support for affected populations, people on the move, as well as those “left behind.” Further, climate mental health specialists can be trained to provide trauma-informed care for mental distress. One example is supporting those staying in temporary shelters for prolonged periods of time – if shelters are even available – when living spaces are damaged or destroyed.

Further research is required to advance understanding of the causal associations and attributions between climate change – including disasters – and mental health consequences, and what the most effective solutions are. Social and environmental justice concerns need to be addressed as well: to improve communication and outreach; increase mental health literacy; and develop culturally relevant resources. Mental health and well-being and emotional resiliency can be improved when there is an extreme event or disaster, especially by focusing interventions on disproportionately affected groups.

The promotion and conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity, and blue and green spaces have health co-benefits
Measures to protect and strengthen blue and green spaces (accessible open-water surfaces or green spaces), not least those with rich ecosystems and high biodiversity, are important as these are associated with short- and longer term positive mental health and well-being outcomes. These spaces can reduce risk factors for climate-related disasters and extreme events and enhance people’s quality of life. Such measures are fundamental components of climate-resilient development and have multiple benefits, for human health and the health of our natural environment.
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Browse insights in climate
Browse insights in climate

Slide 5 Climate change can profoundly affect our mental health 1 Improved models strengthen support for ambitious emission cuts to meet Paris Agreement 2 Emissions from thawing permafrost likely to be worse than expected 3 Deforestation is degrading the tropical carbon sink 4 Climate change will severely exacerbate the water crisis Slide 10 Going to court to defend human rights can be an essential climate action 6 Governments are not yet seizing the opportunity for a green recovery from COVID-19 7 COVID-19 and climate change demonstrate the need for a new social contract 8 Economic stimulus focused primarily on growth would jeopardize the Paris Agreement 9 Electrification in cities is pivotal for just sustainability transitions