The Climate Question
The Climate Question
How is climate change affecting our mental health?
Up next
June 13, 2022
27 minutes
Available for over a year
We often talk about the physical costs of climate change; the economic fallout, the effect on livelihoods and damage to the earth. But all of the changes to our world caused by global warming will have an effect on our minds, our mental health too.
Earlier this year the mental health challenges caused by rising temperatures and extreme weather events were spotlighted in a report by the UN’s climate science body, the IPCC.
Anxiety, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, and even suicide, are all predicted to increase as the world heats up. Jordan Dunbar looks at what this means for people living on the front line of climate change, including examples from Nigeria, India and the Philippines.
Joining Jordan to discuss the mental health challenges facing a warming world are:
Dr Brandon Gray – Clinical Psychologist, World Health Organisation
Dr Gesche Huebner Senior Researcher University College London, Energy Institute
Dr Paolo Cianconi Psychiatrist Catholic University of Rome, Department of Neurosciences
Presenter: Jordan Dunbar
Reporter: Rajesh Joshi
Producer: Jordan Dunbar and Sarah Wild
Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill, Siobhan Reed
Series Producer: Alex Lewis
Sound Engineer: James Beard
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith