From suicide to 'eco-anxiety', climate change spurs mental health crisis
by Laurie Goering | @lauriegoering | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Wednesday, 26 May 2021 13:18 GMT
Mental stresses are growing for families hit by more extreme heat, flooded homes and worries about a hotter planet - but the impacts are little measured so far
By Laurie Goering
LONDON, May 26 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Intensifying climate change impacts, from fiercer heatwaves to more flooded homes, are driving a growing mental health crisis around the world whose costs are so far underestimated and poorly understood, researchers said on Wednesday.
From more heat-linked suicides in Mexico and the United States to rising "eco-anxiety" among young people worried about their future, large numbers are being affected, said Emma Lawrance, a mental health specialist with the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London.
The effects of planetary heating are hitting the poorest and most vulnerable particularly hard, and could widen existing inequities, warned Lawrance, lead author of a new briefing published by the British university.
https://news.trust.org/item/20210526120959-puazp