The Lancet is one of the world’s most trusted medical scientific journals. This week, they published a new scientific report on health and climate change entitled “The 2022 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: health at the mercy of fossil fuels” (Romenello et al., 2022). In the report, the scientists state that due to human activities the global temperature has risen 1.1 degrees compared to the time before industrialization. While it is well known that climate change has catastrophic effects on natural systems (e.g., rising temperatures in the Arctic destroy the ecological niches of polar bears and other species), the new Lancet report highlights that climate change also has severe effects on human health.
1. As extreme heat waves get more common, mental and physical health suffers
Climate change not only led to an increase in the average global temperature, but the frequency of extreme heat waves also increased. Heat waves have many negative effects on physical health, including kidney damage, increased risk for heatstroke, heart problems, and can lead to issues during pregnancy.
Heat waves also have many negative effects on mental health. They can lead to sleep problems and reduce the possibility for people to work out. Sound sleep and exercise are important to maintaining good mental health. Moreover, heat waves limit the possibilities to go out and meet with other people, leading to an increase in loneliness, which may worsen depression. Droughts can lead to drastic reductions in food production, which may lead to economic hardship for farmers, and may worsen their mental health. In addition, hotter temperatures have been shown to increase violence and conflict, and even suicidality.
2. Wildfires have negative effects on mental health
In addition to heat waves and resulting droughts, the probability of wildfires increased drastically. According to the report, the probability to be exposed to days with high fire danger increased in 61 percent of countries from 2001-2004 to 2018-2021. Wildfires have many direct and indirect negative effects on mental health. Experiencing the loss of property, or even loved ones, to a raging fire can lead to intense trauma and increase the probability of disorders like PTSD or depression. Wildfires can also contribute to health issues, such as lung problems related to smoke inhalation. Larger burn wounds can also lead to mental health issues.
3. Floods can be highly traumatizing
Wildfires are not the only extreme climate events that threaten mental health. The report highlights the July 2021 floods in Germany and other countries in Northwestern Europe. Due to heavy rainfalls, floods got so extreme that whole villages got destroyed. Over 200 people died. Experiencing such an event can lead to trauma, similar to wildfires. Moreover, when the critical infrastructure for mental health support, such as psychotherapy practices and psychiatric hospitals gets destroyed by floods, the mental health of patients can worsen due to a lack of proper treatment.
4. Climate change threatens food security and can force people to migrate
Food insecurity, for example, due to droughts, may also force people to migrate from their home country to another place with more food. This can have adverse effects on mental health, as grown social structures are disrupted and people are separated from friends and family. This can be especially hard on older people, marginalized communities, and people with pre-existing mental health conditions.
5. Climate change anxiety is real
People can fear a lot of different things, from spiders to blood, to leaving their house, or communicating with other people. The authors of the Lancet report highlight that due to the increasingly common effects of the climate crisis from wildfires to floods and droughts, climate change anxiety, and eco-anxiety get more and more common. Especially for younger people, the thought that more extreme weather events, like wildfires, will happen in the future can be an intense source of fear. Psychologists need to research these new types of anxiety problems and develop treatment options.
6. Action plans for the climate crisis need to integrate mental health
The authors of the Lancet report highlight that, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence for the negative mental health effects of the climate crisis, few national adaptation plans to counter the climate crisis include specific solutions to mental health issues. Only 28 percent of countries include mental health in their action plans. Clearly, more needs to be done to fight the mental health crisis caused by the climate crisis.
