The psychological impacts of climate change concerns effects that climate change can have on individuals' mental and emotional well-being. They may also relate to more generalized effects on groups and their behaviors, such as the urge to migrate from affected areas of the globe to areas perceived as less affected. These impacts can manifest in various ways and affect people of all ages and backgrounds.
The effects of climate change on mental health and wellbeing are being documented as the consequences of climate change become more tangible and impactful. This is especially the case for vulnerable populations and those with pre-existing serious mental illness. There are three broad pathways by which these effects can take place: directly, indirectly or via awareness. The direct pathway includes stress-related conditions caused by exposure to extreme weather events. These include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Scientific studies have linked mental health to several climate-related exposures. These include heat, humidity, rainfall, drought, wildfires and floods. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License The indirect pathway can be disruption to economic and social activities. An example is when an area of farmland is less able to produce food. The third pathway can be of mere awareness of the climate change threat, even by individuals who are not otherwise affected by it. This especially manifests in the form of anxiety over the quality of life for future generations.
Efforts to understand the psychological impacts of climate change have antecedents in work from the 20th century and even earlier, making evidence-based links to the changing physical and social environment resulting from accelerated human activity dating from the Industrial Revolution. Empirical investigation of psychological impacts specifically related to climate change began in the late 20th century Silent Spring initially appeared serialized in three parts in the June 16, June 23, and June 30, 1962, issues of The New Yorker magazine and have intensified in the first decade of the 21st century. From the early 2010s, psychologists were increasingly calling on each other to contribute to the understanding of psychological impacts from climate change. Academic professionals, medical professionals, and various actors are actively seeking to understand these impacts, provide relief, make accurate predictions, and assist in efforts to mitigate and adapt to global warming, including attempts to pause activity leading to further warming.
There are several channels through which climate change can impact a person's mental health, including direct impacts, indirect effects, and awareness of the issue. Specific populations, such as communities of color, children, and adolescents, are particularly vulnerable to these mental health impacts. There are many exceptions, but generally, it is people in developing countries who are more exposed to the direct effects and economic disruption caused by climate change.
The psychological effects of climate change may be investigated within the field of climate psychology or picked up in the course of treatment of mental health disorders. Non-clinical approaches, campaigning options, internet-based support forums, and self-help books may be adopted by those not overwhelmed by climate anxiety. Some psychological impacts may not receive any form of treatment at all and could be productive—for example, when concern about climate change is channeled into information gathering and seeking to influence related policy with others. The psychological effects of climate may receive attention from governments and others involved in creating public policy, by means of campaigning and lobbying by groups and NGOs.
History As of 2020, the discipline of climate psychology has grown to include many subfields. Social psychologists have published studies on people's psychological responses to climate change news, such as how it might shift values away from indulgence and toward long-term thinking. In addition, climate psychologists have been working with the United Nations, national and local governments, corporations, NGOs, and individuals.
Pathways
Three causal pathways by which climate change causes psychological effects have been suggested: direct, indirect, or via psychosocial awareness.Various reviews use different nomenclature to designate the three causal pathways. e.g. Doherty & Clayton (2011), designate the 'Awareness' pathway using the term "Indirect impact", while grouping 'Indirect' effects via financial and social disruption under "Psychosocial" . In some cases, people may be affected via more than one pathway at once.
There are three broad channels by which climate change affects people's mental state: directly, indirectly, or unconsciously. The direct channel includes stress-related conditions being caused by exposure to extreme weather events, such as cyclones and wildfires, causing conditions such as PTS and anxiety disorder. However, psychological impacts can also occur through less intense forms of climate change, such as through rising temperatures, leading to increased aggression. The indirect pathway occurs via disruption to economic and social activities, such as when an area of farmland becomes infertile due to desertification, a decrease in tourism due to damage to the landscape, or interruptions to transport. This can lead to increased stress, depression, and other psychological conditions such as anxiety. The third channel can be through conscious or unconscious awareness of the climate change threat, even by individuals not otherwise affected by it. This can be, for instance, feeling intimidated by the threats of food and water insecurity posed by climate change, which can lead to conflict. In general, populations living at sea level and in the Southern Hemisphere tend to be more exposed to economic disruption caused by climate change. Whereas recently identified climate-related psychological conditions like "eco-anxiety," resulting from emergent awareness of the threat, can affect people across the planet.
Direct impact
Exposure to extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, floods, or high temperatures associated with drought and wildfires, can cause various emotional disorders. Most commonly, this is short-term stress, from which people can often rapidly recover. But sometimes chronic conditions set in, especially among those who have been exposed to multiple events, such as post-traumatic stress, somatoform disorder, or long-term anxiety. A swift response by authorities to restore a sense of order and security can substantially reduce the risk of long-term psychological impact for most people. However, individuals already suffering from mental ill health and who do not receive the required attention when weather conditions disrupt services may face further decline.
Increased temperatures and heatwaves Several studies have shown that there is a correlation between elevated temperatures and psychiatric hospital admissions for a range of mental and neurological disorders (dementia, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, somatoform disorders, and disorders of psychological development).
Mortality has also been found to be influenced by high ambient temperatures for people living with mental illness and neurological conditions. Another European study supports this finding with increased mortality risk for people with psychiatric disorders during heat waves from 2000 to 2008 in Rome and Stockholm, particularly for older people (75+) and women. Projections of mortality under different climate change scenarios in China also estimate increasing trends in heat-related excess mortality for mental disorders but a decreasing trend in cold-related excess mortality.
Several studies from Asia found that fluctuating temperatures influenced mental health and well-being, impacting productivity and livelihoods. For example, long-term exposure to high and low temperatures in Taiwan resulted in a 7% increase of major depressive disorder incidence per 1 °C increment in regions with an average annual temperature above the median 23 °C.
The single best-studied connection between weather and human behavior is that between temperature and aggression, which has been investigated in laboratory settings, by historical study, and extensive fieldwork. Various reviews conclude that high temperatures cause people to become bad-tempered, leading to increased physical violence, including domestic violence, especially in areas of mixed ethnic groups. There has been academic dispute regarding the degree to which the excess violence is caused by climate change, as opposed to natural temperature variability. The psychological effects of unusually low temperatures, which climate change can also cause in some parts of the world, must be more thoroughly documented. However, evidence suggests that, unlike unusually high temperatures, they are less likely to lead to increased aggression.
Suicide rates Temperature has also been associated with self-harm and suicide rates. Using data from the US and Mexico, suicide rates were found to increase by 0.7% and 3.1%, respectively, for a 1 °C increase in monthly average temperature. Increasing temperatures are associated with increases in aggressive behavior and rising crime rates, leading to increases in homicides and assaults, as well as increased suicide rates in young men and older adults. Higher ambient temperatures are also associated with emergency department visits for mental health, suicides, and self-reporting of poor mental health.
It is projected that in the coming decades, suicide rates in the United States and Mexico will increase due to increasing ambient temperatures. Assuming that there is no reduction in the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions, it is projected that by 2050, there will be an additional 9,000 to 40,000 suicides in the United States and Mexico, which is a rate comparable to the one estimated after the impact of economic recessions, suicide prevention programs, and gun restriction laws. The study also showed an increase in depressive language and suicidal ideation used on social media posts correlated with an increase in temperatures. In India, higher temperatures during growing seasons for crops have also been associated with increased suicides, at a rate of an additional 67 deaths per year per 1 °C additional degree.
Wildfires Studies from North America have shown that experiences of evacuation and isolation due to wildfires, as well as feelings of fear, stress, and uncertainty, contributed to acute and long-term negative impacts on mental and emotional well-being. Prolonged smoke events were linked to respiratory problems, extended time indoors, and disruptions to livelihood and land-based activities, which negatively affected mental well-being. Similar findings were reported in an Australian study, with increased rates of stress, depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder being correlated with bushfire exposure severity.
Floods An Australian study in rural communities concluded that the threat of drought and flood are intertwined and contributed to decreased well-being from stress, anxiety, loss, and fear. A cohort study from the UK looking at the long-term impact of flooding found psychological morbidity persisted for at least three years after the flooding event.
Increased carbon dioxide concentrations