The Overlooked Cost of Climate Change: Our Mental Health

The world marks World Mental Health Day every year on 10 October—a global call to action reminding us that mental well-being is a universal human right. This year’s campaign focuses on the urgent need to support the mental health and psychosocial needs of people affected by humanitarian emergencies, including natural disasters caused by climate change.

Since 1982, the rate of global warming has increased over three times faster, at 0.20 °C per decade, with 2024 being the warmest year since global records began in 1850. These changes have led to significant increases in devastating natural disasters, including wildfires, flooding, heatwaves, and droughts. The accelerating pace of climate change is reshaping how and where we live, work and interact with our environment. Yet, amid these physical and economic disruptions, an often-overlooked consequence emerges: the profound and growing impact on mental health.

Climate change and mental health are deeply interconnected. As the planet warms, extreme weather events continually disrupt people’s lives, triggering widespread emotional and psychological strain. These climate-related hazards affect mental health through both environmental and socioeconomic pathways. Environmentally, such disasters cause air pollution and food and water insecurity, impacting people’s physical health and sense of stability. Socioeconomically, displacement, the loss of homes, unemployment and growing inequalities erode social cohesion, autonomy and security.

Together, these factors contribute to rising levels of stress, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress, as well as strained relationships and feelings of helplessness and grief. In some cases, people turn to substance use or experience suicidal thoughts as coping mechanisms. Emerging emotional responses such as eco-anxiety, ecological grief and solastalgia—the distress caused by environmental change and the loss of familiar landscapes—further reflect how deeply climate change affects human identity and belonging.

In Canada alone, natural disasters have severely impacted Canadians’ mental health. In June 2021, extreme heat waves in British Columbia (BC) disproportionately affected those with schizophrenia, who constituted just one per cent of BC’s population but accounted for 15.7 per cent of heat-related deaths. The 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire forced over 88,000 residents to evacuate, with 37 per cent of affected youth reporting post-traumatic stress symptoms even 18 months later. In 2022, flooding from Hurricane Fiona in Prince Edward Island increased stress and depression in 41 per cent of surveyed residents, and 18% reported a rise in substance use. These events illustrate how natural disasters not only threaten physical safety but also leave lasting mental health impacts across diverse communities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes the urgent need to integrate mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) into climate change strategies. Its recommendations include incorporating climate considerations into mental health policies to enhance preparedness, embedding MHPSS within climate adaptation and mitigation programs, and leveraging global frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement to reduce vulnerabilities. The WHO also stresses the importance of multisectoral, community-based approaches to strengthen resilience and recovery, as well as increasing investment to close funding gaps for mental health services and climate adaptation efforts.

Canada has made progress in addressing the mental health impacts of climate change, but it still faces significant gaps. Initiatives like HealthADAPT, managed by Health Canada, help provinces and territories assess climate-related health risks and develop adaptation plans. It funded ten health authorities during 2018–2022, allowing them to conduct vulnerability assessments and create strategies tailored to local communities, including Indigenous populations in the Northwest Territories and urban/rural communities in New Brunswick. While these efforts address physical health risks, mental health is not yet consistently included across all programs, highlighting the need for broader integration.

Community-based approaches promoted by organizations like the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) support resilience in local climate adaptation efforts. Initiatives like Building Resilient Neighbourhoods equip communities with tools and guidance to prepare for climate-related stressors. The MHCC also provides toolkits for individuals to manage climate-related distress and build emotional resilience, emphasizing local engagement and social support networks.

However, increased funding, systematic monitoring and full MHPSS integration into climate policies are needed. While significant strides have been made in integrating climate and health adaptation efforts, there is a pressing need to incorporate mental health considerations into these strategies consistently. Health authorities and community organizations must collaborate to ensure that mental health is a central component of climate adaptation plans. This includes conducting comprehensive assessments that consider the mental health impacts of climate change, developing targeted interventions to address these impacts, and providing resources and support to individuals and communities affected by climate-related mental health challenges. By doing so, we can build a more resilient and mentally healthy future in the face of climate change.

Policymakers, healthcare providers and communities must collaborate to expand resources, build resilient support networks and ensure that mental health is a core consideration in climate action to protect all Canadians.

Edited by Ali Shahrukh Pracha

Image credit: UN.org (Access to Services-Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies)