The Mental Health Toll of Climate Change - Recent Data and Implications

Liz McLaughin, PhD - Climate Change and Health SIG

Climate Distress Matters

Climate change is here now, and people are distressed by it. The world is getting hotter and climate change-fueled disasters, like serious storms, are becoming more and more frequent. People who are exposed to extreme weather are at risk of mental health problems because of their experiences in disasters; even people with fewer direct exposures are worried. Here is some recent information on how people are feeling about climate change, and some examples of tools that behavioral health researchers, public health professionals, and healthcare providers can use to understand the human cost of climate change.

Adults’ Perceptions About Climate Change

In a 2023 study, 65% of American adults endorsed being at least somewhat worried about climate change, and 29% endorsed being “very worried” about it (Leiserowitz, 2023). In the same survey, about 10% of American adults reported mental health distress about climate change (experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression because of global warming/climate change for several or more days out of the last two weeks).

This data comes from the most recent iteration of the very large Climate Change in the American Mind survey.  Since 2008, researchers have been collecting data on American adults’ perceptions and feelings about climate change with this survey. This initiative presents an example of not only the use of a large, nationally (U.S.) representative dataset, but also data sharing and science communication. The survey data is publicly available in interactive dashboards. For instance, the Yale Climate Opinion maps allow people to see the survey results by location, presented from the national to the county level.

Young People’s Perceptions About Climate Change

Another recent survey, with a similar large, nationally representative sample and opportunity for public data access, focused on young people in the U.S. (Lewandowski et al., 2024). On this survey, 85% of 16- to 25-year-olds endorsed being at least moderately worried about climate change. Notably, 58% of the sample endorsed being very or extremely worried. Just under half (43%) of the youth self-reported that climate change is affecting their mental health. These results suggest widespread climate distress among young people, seemingly more than that experienced by adults as a whole.

In a manner similar to the surveys cited above, the survey results of this study of youth are available in a searchable dashboard which contains much more information, such as results presented by location, and information whether the young people had directly experienced climate disasters.

Exposure to Climate Change

While the above speak to how people are generally feeling about climate change, it has also been well established that people who are exposed to the effects of climate change are at risk for worsened mental health. Evidence is particularly consistent for negative effects of extreme heat, which increases risks of negative affective states, aggressive behavior, psychiatric emergencies, and suicide (Burrows et al., 2024, Charlson et al., 2021; Miles-Novelo & Anderson, 2019).

Also well-established is that these effects are not evenly distributed. People with other vulnerabilities, such as low socioeconomic status and other medical problems, are at elevated risk (Meadows et al., 2023; Walinski et al., 2023). Climate change exacerbates health inequities.

Consequences of Climate-Related Distress

People’s distress about climate change can have effects beyond making them unhappy. Mental health is costly to society, in terms of healthcare spending, increased severity of comorbid physical health problems, and attendant problems such as decreased work productivity (Figueroa, Phelan, Orav, Patel,  & Jha, 2020).

What To Do

• Researchers and clinicians: consider the effects of climate change as possible stressors: what specific climate risks affect the people or populations you work with? A resource for the U.S. is the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index.
• Researchers and other professionals: Use the tools discussed above. Explore other opportunities for use of public datasets, such as those published by local departments of health. For those outside the U.S., similar resources may exist.
• Researchers, clinicians, or others: consider shifting your professional focus: we need an evidence base to inform action, for questions like how help people whose climate concern rises to clinical levels; how people and communities cultivate resilience; what prompts people to take pro-climate action and whether any pro-climate action is impactful.
• Clinicians – mental health or otherwise: consider that your patients may be experiencing climate change effects and they may be stressed or unhappy. Therapists might want to talk about it in session; other healthcare providers might want to treat this like any other psychosocial stressor that could affect outcomes like adherence or attendance.
• Advocates: consider presenting data-driven information such as that presented in the tools above. Policymakers and other decisions makers may be motivated by understanding these human costs.

References:

1. Burrows, K., Denckla, C. A., Hahn, J., Schiff, J. E., Okuzono, S. S., Randriamady, H., ... & Lowe, S. R. (2024). A systematic review of the effects of chronic, slow-onset climate change on mental health. Nature Mental Health, 2(2), 228-243.
2. Charlson, F., Ali, S., Benmarhnia, T., Pearl, M., Massazza, A., Augustinavicius, J., & Scott, J. G. (2021). Climate change and mental health: a scoping review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(9), 4486. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094486
3. Figueroa, J. F., Phelan, J., Orav, E. J., Patel, V., & Jha, A. K. (2020). Association of mental health disorders with health care spending in the Medicare population. JAMA network open, 3(3), e201210-e201210.
4. Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Rosenthal, S., Kotcher, J., Goddard, E., Carman, J., Verner, M., Ballew, M., Marlon, J., Lee, S., Myers, T., Goldberg, M., Badullovich, N., Thier, K. (2023). Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/climate-change-american-mind-politics-policy-fall-2023.pdf
5. Lewandowski, R. E., Clayton, S. D., Olbrich, L., Sakshaug, J. W., Wray, B., Schwartz, S. E., Augustinavicius, Howe, P. D., Parnes, M., Wright, S., Carpenter, C., Wiśniowski, A., Perez Ruiz, D.,  & Van Susteren, L. (2024). Climate emotions, thoughts, and plans among US adolescents and young adults: A cross-sectional descriptive survey and analysis by political party identification and self-reported exposure to severe weather events. The Lancet Planetary Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(24)00229-8
6. Meadows, J., Mansour, A., Gatto, M., Li, A., Howard, A., & Bentley, R. (2023). Mental illness and increased vulnerability to negative health effects from extreme heat events: a systematic review. Psychiatry Research, 115678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115678
7. Miles-Novelo, A., & Anderson, C. A. (2019). Climate change and psychology: Effects of rapid global warming on violence and aggression. Current Climate Change Reports, 5, 36-46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40641-019-00121-2
8. Walinski, A., Sander, J., Gerlinger, G., Clemens, V., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., & Heinz, A. (2023). The Effects of Climate Change on Mental Health. Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 120(8), 117–124. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.m2022.0403