WHO: Climate Crisis Poses Serious Risks for Mental Health

Climate change has a detrimental impact on mental health worldwide, making it critical for countries to include psychological support in their climate response plans, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated.

As the climate crisis becomes more severe — causing extreme heat episodes, floods and wildfires as well as ecosystem changes leading to food or water insecurity — it exacerbates social and environmental risk factors for mental health disorders, according to a WHO policy brief released today at the United Nations’ Stockholm+50 conference.

Environmental factors, such as air pollution and food insecurity, along with socioeconomic effects, like forced climate migration and environmental inequities, can all lead to increased levels of stress, trauma or grief linked to climate change.

“The impacts of climate change are increasingly a part of our daily lives, and there is very little dedicated mental health support available for people and communities dealing with climate-related hazards and long-term risk,” Maria Neira, MD, WHO director of the department of environment, climate change and health said in a press release.

The climate crisis may be linked to several mental health outcomes, such as climate change anxiety, ecological grief, and “solastalgia,” defined as distress from ecosystem losses caused by environmental change, the brief stated. Climate-related mental health effects are likely to disproportionately impact vulnerable groups, depending on factors such as socioeconomic status, gender, age, or history of other mental health conditions.

The WHO policy brief concurs with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which outlined mental health conditions associated with climate change in its February report, marking the first time top climate scientists emphasized the psychological impacts of the crisis.

There is some research into the mental health effects of climate change, specifically among youth. In the largest survey of climate anxiety in young people to date, nearly half of the 10,000 teen and young adult respondents said that climate anxiety affected their daily lives and ability to function. Nearly 60% were “very” or “extremely” worried about climate change.

And there’s already a shortage in mental healthcare, the WHO brief noted. The gap between the number of people with mental health disorders and those who actually receive treatment is wide even without considering the effects of the climate crisis, especially in low- and middle-income countries, where less than 20% of those with a mental health disorder report receiving adequate care, the WHO stated.

Many countries have not included mental health mitigation strategies in their climate response. A 2021 WHO survey of 95 countries found that only nine have included mental health and psychosocial support in their climate action plans.

In the brief, the WHO outlined five recommendations for nations to improve their climate change mitigation and mental health interventions. The group recommended both integrating climate considerations into mental health support programs and including psychological supports and concerns into nations’ climate action plans. For example, interventions that increase walking and biking as active transportation could reduce pollution and are also likely to have positive impacts on mental and physical health.

Additionally, WHO recommendations included building on global commitments (such as those set in the Paris Agreement), implementing community-based interventions to address the climate crisis, and addressing gaps in funding both for the mental health and physical health impacts of climate change.

“WHO’s Member States have made it very clear mental health is a priority for them,” said Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, DPhil, WHO climate lead and IPCC lead author. “We are working closely with countries to protect people’s physical and mental health from climate threats.”