Mentalhealthemergencyofclimatechange

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Mental health emergency of climate change: Consequences and

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Article in International Journal of Communication · March 2015
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Mental health emergency of climate change: Consequences and vulnerabilities. International Journal of
Communication, 16(March, 2015), 110-131
Mental health emergency of climate change: Consequences and

vulnerabilities
Chukwuorji, J. C., Ifeagwazi, C. M., & Iorfa, S. K.
Department of Psychology,
University of Nigeria,
Nsukka, 41000,
Enugu state, Nigeria.
Email: jbchukwuorji@gmail.com
Abstract
Climate change has been a complex emergency for the past 20 years. While much of the
unprecedented destructions on the physical and economic environment that are wrought by the
variability in climate are given reasonable attention by scholars/environmentalists and
government, its impact on mental health is often unrecognised, especially in developing
countries. This paper discusses the impact of extreme weather conditions on mental health
and x-rays the vulnerable populations such as forced migrants/displaced groups, children,
elderly persons and people who have existing mental disorders. Apart from depression, suicide,
substance abuse, complicated grief, and stress-related disorders (e.g., Acute Stress Disorder
and PTSD), new disorders which have emerged in mental health lexicon as a consequence of
climate change are the weather phobias, ecoanxiety and solastalgia. Physical illnesses that are
caused by climate change can also take a heavy toll on the psychological wellbeing of
individuals and nations. Gaps in scientific knowledge of the relationships between climate
change and mental health are highlighted as part of the research recommendations. Since the
most effective approach to dealing with the current and future challenges of climate change is a
multi-disciplinary approach, psychologists are encouraged to have a more proactive
engagement in climate change programmes. Relevant agencies/organisations should
acknowledge the vital role of mental health experts and engage the professionals in this regard.
Key Words: Adaptation. Climate change. Displacement. Mental health. Mitigation.
Vulnerability.
Introduction
“Global climate change has become one of the most visible environmental concerns of
the 21st century. From pictures of polar bears clinging to melting ice floes in Alaska to dried
and cracked farmland stretching into the horizon in Africa, images of the ecological impacts of
climate change have become part of our combined consciousness and inspire concern and
discussion about what climate change ultimately will mean to our planet” (Portier, Thigpen,
Carter, Dilworth, Grambsch, Gohlke, et al., 2010, p.2). Global average temperatures are
projected to increase between 1.8 and 4.0°C by end of this century (Intergovernmental Panel on
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Climate Change. Working Group II, 2007). The frequency and severity of disasters triggered
by natural hazards have increased over the last 15 years, part of which is attributable to cyclic
changes in climate patterns. Of even greater relevance, however, is the fact that population
density in cities and in geophysically vulnerable areas has increased dramatically since 1950,
both in developed and developing countries (Bourque, Siegel, Kano & Wood, 2007).
The Climate Change Performance Index Results 2014 (Burck, Marten & Bals, 2013),
indicated that no single country is yet on track to prevent dangerous climate change. Besides
positive trends in the development of renewable energies and energy efficiency, the slowdown
in global emission increase due to shale gas or big hydro power leads to other problematic
developments. Available evidence shows that climate change is global, likewise its impacts;
but the most adverse effects will be felt mainly by developing countries, especially those in
Africa, due to their low level of coping capabilities (Nwafor, 2007; Jagtap 2007). Nigeria is
one of these developing countries (Odjugo, 2010). A new report on countries’ vulnerability to
climate change effects has highlighted the precarious situation confronting Nigeria. A report by
the British risk consultancy, Maplecroft, has ranked Nigeria sixth among countries that are
most vulnerable to the effects of climate change (Azu, 2013).
Paradoxically, Ogbo, Ndubuisi and Ukpere (2013) reported that when a sample of
Nigerians were asked whether they think the problem of climate change affects them, 73.85%
responded positively, while 26.15% believed that the problem of climate change does not affect
them in any way. Most of them may even limit the impacts of climate change to the physical
effects and losses they may experience. Erratic weather conditions, flood disasters and the
experiences of ethnocultural clashes in Nigeria demonstrated the climate change troubles in
microcosm to the Nigerian people. The 2012 flood disaster has particularly, laid bare the
humanitarian catastrophe of extreme weather events. To a lot of persons, it is no longer a ‘fairy
tale’ that our world is changing. In Nigeria, the 2012 flood disaster, which hit the 36 states of
the federation, was the most devastating disaster recorded in Nigerian history, impacting more
several communities and directly affecting more than 7 million people, including forcing about
2.3 million people to flee from their homes. As Hulme (2009) puts it, “the full story of climate
change is the unfolding story of an idea and how this idea is changing the way we think, feel,
and act” (p. 28).
Doherty and Clayton (2011) contended that climate change is as much a psychological
and social phenomenon as a matter of biodiversity and geophysics and has impacts beyond the
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biophysical. Climate scientists have begun to empirically link 2011’s extreme weather events
and natural disasters to climate change (Coyle & Van Susteren, 2012). If it is evident that the
disasters are the effects of climate change, the psychological disorders resulting from climate
change cannot be extricated from impacts of climate change. This paper discusses the direct
and indirect effects of climate change on mental health. The psychosocial vulnerabilities that
either predispose people to adverse mental health effects of climate change, or exacerbate these
mental health consequences will be highlighted. Existing gaps in knowledge of the
relationships of climate change and mental health are also the focus of this paper.
The Concept of Climate Change

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines
climate change as a change of climate which is attributable directly or indirectly to human
activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural
climate variability observed over a comparable time period (Odjugo, 2009). Change of climate
“is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global
atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over com-parable
time periods” (Parry, Canzian, Palutikof, van der Linden & Hanson, 2007, p. 9). For example,
climate change and global warming might be adequate explanation for the unusual and frequent
torrential rains (Kershi & Simon, 2005).
In bio and geophysical terms, climate change is defined as changes over time in the
averages and variability of surface temperature, precipitation, and wind as well as associated
changes in Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and natural water supplies, snow and ice, land surface,
ecosystems, and living organisms (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007a).
Recent reports (Clayton, Manning & Hodge, 2014) indicates that some of the gradual effects of
climate change include: slow changes in mean temperature, humidity and dew point; sea level
rise; spread of diseases changes in agricultural conditions and associated increases in food
insecurity; changes in natural landscapes, changes in land use and habitation and associated
increases in numbers of displaced people; ecosystem disruptions; increased air pollution; and
decreased availability of fresh water.
Two fundamental issues of psychosocial relevance in any discussion of climate change

impacts are mitigation and adaptation (Portier, et al., 2010). Mitigation of climate change refers
to actions being taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance the sinks that trap or
remove carbon from the atmosphere to reduce the extent of global climate change. Adaptation
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refers to actions being taken to lessen the impact on health and the environment due to changes
that cannot be prevented through mitigation. Adaptation occurs through a range of
physiological, behavioural, and technological mechanisms. Appropriate mitigation and
adaptation strategies will positively affect both climate change and the environment, and
thereby positively affect human health. In addition, some adaptation activities will directly
improve human health through changes in our public health and health care infrastructure.
Quite possibly the most important thing to communicate about climate change is that there is a
97% consensus amongst the scientific experts and scientific research that humans are causing
global warming (Burke, 2014). Global warming is the increase in temperature of world regions
resulting in estimated rise in sea level (See Ezin, Yabi, Kochoni & Ahanchede, 2014). In the
2007 report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the best case scenario
(huge reductions in greenhouse gases, beginning almost immediately) yielded an average
global temperature increase of 1.8 ° C (3.2 ° F) and an average sea level increase of 28 cm (11
inches). The worst case scenario yielded increases of 4.0 ° C (7.2 ° F) and 43 cm (17 inches).
One specific projection for Africa is that there will be 5 – 8% increase in the proportion of
Africa that is arid and semi–arid (Anderson, 2012). The reality that human behaviour results in
climate change, and that behaviour change is a key factor in climate change prevention is the
business of psychology in climate change. Additionally, the mental health problems associated
with climate change are fundamental issues in psychology’s role in climate change adaptation.
Mental health consequences of climate change

Mental health is an area of public health that is often a low research priority and one
whose impacts on human and societal wellbeing are typically underestimated (Portier, et al.,
2010). Mental disorders account for nearly 12% of the global burden of disease. By 2020 they
will account for nearly 15% of disability-adjusted life-years lost to illness. Developing
countries are likely to see a disproportionately large increase in the burden attributable to
mental disorders in the coming decades (WHO, 2003). Although they cannot be described with
certainty given current research, the cumulative and interacting psychosocial effects of climate
change are likely to be profound. Doherty and Clayton (2011) observed that psychological
impacts are likely to be mediated and moderated by media representations and information
technologies, resilience or vulnerability to disasters and environmental changes, and social
cognitive factors. The mediators are changing and contested views of climate change, media
images and social narratives, and perceptions of risk and vulnerability, values and beliefs.
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Moderators are sources of vulnerability and resilience, as well as time scale of the disaster
magnitude. Earlier, some Nigerian authors (e.g., Orire & Olorunfemi, 2009; Nwoke, Nwoke &
Ukpai, 2009; Eke & Onafalujo, 2012) reviewed the impact of global warming on human health
but they glossed over the impacts on mental health. Some psychological problems have been
found to be associated to the variability in weather conditions. They are: Anxiety,
posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, aggression and violent behaviour, suicide, solastalgia,
phobias, complicated grief and grief-related disorders, substance use disorders and mental
health burden of climate-changed induced physical illnesses. These psychopathological
conditions associated with climate change can be reviewed as follows:
Anxiety: Baxter, Scott, Ferrari, Norman, Vos and Whiteford (2014) conducted a systematic
review of prevalence, remission, duration, and excess mortality studies for anxiety disorders.
They used a Bayesian meta-regression approach to estimate point prevalence for 1990, 2005,
and 2010. They also conducted a post-hoc search for studies that used the General Health
Questionnaire (GHQ) as a measure of psychological distress and tested for trends to present a
qualitative comparison of study findings. It was found that 8 of the 11 GHQ studies found a
significant increase in psychological distress over time. High levels of distress and anxiety also
appear to be linked to physical health effects. For example, chronic distress results in a lowered
immune system response and greater risk of a number of physical ailments (Alderman, Turner
& Tong, 2012; Simpson, Weissbecker & Sephton, 2011).
Qualitative research indicates that some people are deeply affected by feelings of loss,
helplessness, and frustration due to their inability to feel like they are making a difference in
stopping climate change (Moser, 2013). This phenomenon is termed eco-anxiety. Media
accounts of eco-anxiety about climate change describe symptoms such as panic attacks, loss of
appetite, irritability, weakness, and sleeplessness (Nobel, 2007,). Earlier conceptualisations of
environmental anxiety (Rabinowitz & Poljak, 2003) has been characterized as obsessive and
potentially disabling worry about health risks that are actually not significant (e.g., compared
with well-recognized hazards such as motor vehicle accidents and smoking). For scientists who
are facing the reality of extinction of valuable plant and animal species, Chivian and Bernstein
(2008) observed that the psychological costs of losing opportunities to ease suffering, as well
as grappling with the feeling of profound failure as stewards of the environment, is of course,
incalculable.
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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): PTSD is a psychological disorder that develops

following exposure to trauma. Trauma can result from experiencing or witnessing traumatic or
life-threatening events. In addition to conditions such as Acute stress disorder, post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) is likely to have profound effects on the neurological functioning of
populations exposed to the stress of extreme weather events, and the resulting dislocation and
deprivation that may result from climate change. Apparently, there may be comorbidities in the
climate devastations on mental health.
Depression: By 2020, depression is expected to become the second most important cause of
disability in the world (Murray & Lopez, 1996). The World Federation for Mental Health
chose Depression: A global crisis, as the theme for the 20th Anniversary of World Mental
Health Day, October 10, 2012. According to the World Health Organization, unipolar
depressive disorders were ranked as the third leading cause of the global burden of disease in
2004 and will move into the first place by 2030. There are numerous accounts of subclinical
depressive emotions, guilt, and despair associated with climate change and other global
environmental issues (e.g., Norgaard, 2009). In a study of young people in a drought-affected
area, Carnie, Berry, Blinkhorn and Hart (2011) found that young people felt high levels of
distress and reported being concerned about their families, overwhelmed, isolated, and worried
about the future.
Aggression and violent behaviour: Aggression and increased level of violence is the most
widely investigated impact of climate change on mental health. Theoretically, the heat
hypothesis (Anderson, 2001) states that hot temperatures increase aggressive motivation and
aggressive behaviour. Hot temperatures increase aggression by directly increasing feelings of
hostility and indirectly increasing aggressive thoughts. People who were thinking about climate
change became more hostile to individuals outside of their social group (Fritsche, Cohrs,
Kessler, & Bauer, 2012). Hostility toward individuals outside of one’s social group can be a
way of affirming one’s own group identity in the face of perceived threat. Agnew (2012)
explains that the effects of climate change are likely to promote crime by increasing strain,
reducing social control, weakening social support, increasing opportunities for crime, and
creating social conflict.
Using experimental and correlational research, Anderson and his colleague (Anderson,
2001; Anderson & DeLisi, 2011) found that there is a causal relationship between heat and
violence and that any increase in average global temperature is likely to be accompanied by an
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increase in violent aggression. In a recent meta-analysis, Hsiang, Burke, and Miguel

(2013) found clear evidence that climatic changes increased the frequency of intergroup
violence (such as political conflict and war) and interpersonal violence (such as domestic
violence, assault, and rape) (See also Rotton & Cohn, 2004; Cohn & Rotton, 2005).
Furthermore, domestic abuse often increases among families who have experienced disasters,
such as Hurricane Katrina (Yun, Lurie & Hyde, 2010). A study following North Carolina’s
Hurricane Floyd (Keenan, et. al., 2004) concluded, for example, that children are more likely to
be abused by family members following disasters. Ranson (2012) found that between 2010 and
2099, climate change will cause an estimated additional 30,000 murders and 3.2 million
burglaries as a result of increased average temperatures. In Burke, Miguel, Satyanath, Dykema
and Lobell’s (2009) analysis of civil war in Africa from 1981 – 2002, it is estimated that for a
1°C increase in temperature, there was a 5.9% increase in civil war. Since a 1°C increase is
projected by 2030, if future wars in this region are as deadly as past ones, an additional
393,000 battle deaths can be expected (Burke, et al., 2009).
As the vegetation gets depleted due to global warming, there will be massive internal
displacement and competition for scarce resources. Changes in plant habitat can result in
reduced availability of grazing lands for livestock (Ericksen, et al., 2009). Odoh and Chilaka
(2012) examined, at the theoretical and empirical levels, the nexus between climate change and
conflict in Nigeria. More fundamentally, it showed how climate change accounts for the
worsening incidence of conflict between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in northern Nigeria.
Anchoring analysis on the eco-violence theory, the researchers argued that much as it is
believed that the immediate cause of Fulani herdsmen and farmer conflict in northern Nigeria
is natural resource scarcity, the remote cause is climate change which has, through drought and
desertification, led to the worsening incidence of natural resource scarcity and worsen conflict
between the two.
Suicide: Coyle and Van Susteren (2012) reported that among the indigenous people of
Ilulissat, Greenland, a village of 3,000 inhabitants near the Arctic Circle, in one year alone,
2007, 17 boys committed suicide. This is a stunning suicide rate for such a small community.
The increased melting of polar ice in the summer months had caused profound changes in the
hunting habits of the people in the village. This has forced young men to abandon their familial
village to seek livelihoods in cities. This new urban lifestyle is foreign and alienating to them.
Many experience enormous difficulty adjusting to the urban environment. They feel out of
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place, and end up returning home. They have few plans for the future. Others are too
discouraged to muster the initiative to leave the village in search of better circumstances.
Other studies report a connection between higher temperature and suicide (Deisenhammer,
2003). This association appears to be stronger for violent suicides than for non-violent suicides
(e.g., Maes, De Meyer, Thompson, Peeters & Cosyns, 1994). After Hurricane Katrina, affected
communities showed significantly higher rates of suicide and suicide attempts (14.7 and 78.6
times above the area’s baseline rate, respectively). The linkage of suicide to global warming
among military personnel in the United States is also plausible (Coyle & Van Susteren, 2012).
Solastalgia: Because gradual effects build up over time and are harder to observe, their
impacts may be more devastating at the long run. The phenomenon of ‘solastalgia’ has
emerged as a new construct in the ecopsychology lexicon. It refers to “the lived experience of
negatively perceived change to a home environment” (Albrecht, 2011, p. 50), and has a less
sudden or acute beginning due to the slow onset of changes in one’s local environment. It was
validated by Albrecht and colleagues through long-term studies of the experiences of
inhabitants of the open pit coalmining areas of the Upper Hunter River Valley in Australia
(Albrecht, et al., 2007, p. S95; Higginbotham, Connor, Albrecht, Freeman, & Agho, 2007).
Albrecht believes that shifts in the health of an ecosystem, as evidenced by the desolate
wastelands created by large scale strip mining to the landscape changing impacts of global
warming, diminish the mental health of the people who live there (Albrecht, 2005). This
phenomenon is characterized by a similar sense of desolation and loss as that experienced by
people forced to migrate away from their home environment (Clayton, et al., 2014). Solastalgia
is an emotional distress associated with the loss or displacement of an environment that is
psychologically important. This can include the loss of connection to one's home environment
or involuntary migration, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (See
Rodman, 2014).
Phobias: Other developments in mental health impacts of climate change are the weather
phobias. Research (Westefeld, 1996) shows that some people are constantly in fear of the
possibility of extreme weather events. In places where tornados and tornado warnings are
common, cases of fear of severe weather were found to be so extreme it could be considered a
phobia. Westefeld (1996) studied 81 individuals who had expressed serious worries about
extreme weather to assess their reactions to thunderstorms and tornadoes and found that even a
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weather forecast a week in advance could leave some participants ‘prisoners in their own
homes’. The classification of weather phobias is presented in Table 1 as shown.
Table 1: List of weather phobias
Phobia Fear of...

Lilapsophobia Tornadoes or hurricanes
Brontophobia Lightning and thunder
Antlophobia Floods
Chionophobia Snow
Ombrophobia Rain
Ancraophobia Wind
Heliophobia Sun
Thermophobia Heat
Cryophobia Cold
Comichlophobia Fog
Nephophobia Clouds
Pagophobia Ice or frost
Cymophobia Waves
Source: Coyle and Van Susteren (2012)
Complicated grief and grief-related disorders: The bereavement and grief-related disorders
are also a source of immediate concern. The World Health Organization estimated that in 2000,
there were over 77,000 deaths from malnutrition and 47,000 deaths from diarrhea (many from
foodborne exposures) due to climate change (Campbell-Lendrum, Woodruff & WHO, 2007).
Contemporary grief loss models (e.g., Worden, 2009), explains grief as a normal reaction to
loss and the mourning process as a dynamic series of tasks including (a) accepting the reality of
the loss, (b) processing the physical and emotional pain of grief, (c) adjusting externally and
internally to a world without the lost object, and (d) finding an enduring connection with the
lost object in the midst of embarking on a new life. Applying Worden’s (2009) framework to
adjustment to climate change, Randall (2009) described case studies of individuals drawn from
the Cambridge, England, Carbon Conversations program who exhibited movement through the
grief and mourning process toward a reinvesting of emotional energy in more ecologically
stable life choices.
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Substance related disorders: Cunsolo Willox et al. (2012) reported increases in substance
abuse and the use of mental health services in a small Inuit community in Canada in response
to climate impacts. Prolonged exposure to heat may increase the risk for patients taking
psychotropic drug treatment for mental disorders (Davido, Patzak, Dart, Sadier, Méraud,
Masmoudi, Sembach & Cao, 2006). The increased use of substances may be triggered as a
coping mechanism for the stress associated with climate change and the strains on
environmental resources. Psychotropic drugs interfere with the body’s ability to regulate
temperature; individuals who use these drugs could be at increased risk of heat-related illness
during extreme heat events (Martin-Latry, Goumy, Latry, Gabinski, Begaud, Faure & Verdoux,
2007).
Mental health burden of climate-changed induced illnesses: Disease risk may increase as a
result of climate change due to related expansions in vector ranges, shortening of pathogen
incubation periods, and disruption and relocation of large human populations. In a tally that
included four diseases (cardiovascular disease, malnutrition, diarrhoea, and malaria) as well
as floods, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 166,000 deaths and about 5.5
million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs, a measure of overall disease burden) were
attributable to climate change in 2000 (Campbell-Lendrum, et al., 2007). There is further
evidence of climate sensitivity for several cardiovascular diseases, with both extreme cold and
extreme heat directly affecting the incidence of hospital admissions for chest pain, acute
coronary syndrome, stroke, and variations in cardiac dysrhythmias (See Portier, et al., 2010).
The main cause of lung cancer is smoking, especially cigarettes, but air pollution (Beelen, et
al., 2008), and fine particulates (Krewski, et al., 2009), also contributes to the global burden of
lung cancers. These diseases are often associated with mental health issues.
Global warming is also causing shifts in the ranges of disease vectors that require specific
environments to thrive (Estrada-Peña, 2002) and increasing the threat and incidence in humans
of zoonotic diseases (those transferred from animals to humans) (Portier, et al., 2010). Recent
public health experience with the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in some parts of
West Africa reveals the complexity of such epidemics, and the lack of preparedness required
by public health officials to contain national public health threats. The EVD was contained in
Nigeria but the lack of preparedness in some countries has left an estimated death toll of over
thousands of persons. Adverse impacts such as psychological distress, anxiety and traumatic
119
stress resulting from emerging infectious disease outbreaks are also likely to increase if the
predicted outbreaks of serious infectious diseases become reality (Page & Howard, 2010).
Psychosocial factors in vulnerability to the mental health impacts of climate change

The mental health problems associated with climate change affect, most severely, susceptible
and vulnerable populations. Vulnerability are those human populations at higher risk due to
environmental or personal variables. Such vulnerable population are as follows: displaced
persons and forced migrants, persons of lower socio-economic status, people with pre-existing
mental illnesses, children and youth, as well as the elderly.
Displacement/forced migration: According to Fritze, Blashki, Burke and Wiseman (2008),

the effects of climate change impact the social, economic, and environmental determinants of
mental health, with the most severe consequences being felt by communities who were already
disadvantaged prior to the event. Displaced populations have been shown to be at higher risk of
a number of diseases, as well as mental health illnesses due to increased acute and chronic
stress (Myers, 2002). Internal displacement tends to increase the demand for greater access to
services that climate change can put at risk (Weissbecker & Czinez, 2011). Communities are
already being forced to relocate because of current or anticipated climate changes (Agyeman,
et al., 2009), and it has been estimated that there may be 200 million environmental refugees by
mid-century (Myers, 2002). Such forced relocations can involve a severing of emotional ties to
place, disruption of existing social networks, and attempts to maintain cultural integrity despite
relocation (Nelson, West & Finan, 2009). These disruptions of geographic and social
connections may lead to grief, anxiety, and a sense of loss, particularly among those with a
strong place or national identity. Indirectly, displacement and damages related to disasters is
often associated with disruptions of medical care for chronic physical and mental health
conditions, thereby putting populations with chronic health conditions for exacerbations in
severity of the problem.
Lower socio-economic status: People with fewer economic resources will feel the
psychological effects of climate change more strongly, because they have less ability to afford
the technologies that would mitigate the financial and medical effects of climate change.
Within nations, the have-nots are more likely to be ethnic minorities (Bullard & Johnson,
2000). Those who live in rural areas—such as farmers and fishers, who rely on natural
resources for their economic well-being, or people whose identities are tied to a particular
conception of place (see Burley, 2010)—are also likely to be strongly affected, directly or
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indirectly, by changes to existing ecosystems. According to the Climate Risk Index, inhabitants
of developing rather than developed countries are generally more affected than industrialised
countries. Nigeria was ranked 29th in 2011, but in 2012, Nigeria rose to 10th position, with a
Climate Risk Index of 22.33, death toll of 405 and absolute losses of USD837.45 (Kreft &
Eckstein, 2013).
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2014) reported that in Nigeria, economic

diversification and strong growth have not translated into a significant decline in poverty levels
- over 62% of Nigeria's 170 million people live in extreme poverty. The impact of Hurricane
Katrina on New Orleans (USA) provided a tragic example of the possible consequences of
extreme weather events and cumulative socio-economic disadvantage. Structural inequalities
implied that low-income African-American people were most affected: they lived in the
residentially segregated, low-lying areas; there was little public transport available for
evacuation; the levees were poorly maintained; there was poor policy implementation (Kates,
Colten, Laska & Leatherman, 2006).
People with pre-existing mental illness: People with mental illness are particularly vulnerable
to heat-related death. Contributing risk factors such as psychotropic medication, pre-existing
respiratory and cardiovascular disease and substance misuse, are all highly prevalent in people
with serious mental illness. During these hotter periods, they appear to get sicker than
expected, show greater dangerousness towards others and require more frequent use of
restraints (Bulbena, Sperry & Cunillera, 2006). In addition, maladaptive coping mechanisms
and poor quality housing are likely to further increase vulnerability (Page & Howard, 2010).
Psychotropic drugs interfere with the body’s ability to regulate temperature; individuals being
treated with these drugs could be at increased risk of heat-related illness during extreme heat
events (Martin-Latry, et al., 2007). There may be an increased prevalence of mental disorders
as a result of natural disasters, leading to reductions in the provisions for those with pre-
existing mental disorders and increased severity of mental illness in people with pre-existing
mental disorders.
Children and Youth: Persistent distress and anxiety may be especially prevalent in children
and youth (Simpson, Weissbecker, & Sephton, 2011). In the first known “climate change
delusion”, a depressed 17 year old boy was hospitalized for refusing to drink water out of fear
it would cause many more deaths in drought ridden Australia. It was reported that the doctor
who treated the child has seen other children suffer from other children suffering from climate
121
related anxiety disorders (Coyle & Van Susteren, 2012). In a survey of Australian children,
Tucci, Mitchell and Ringwood (2007) found that a quarter are so troubled about the state of the
world that they honestly believe it will come to an end before they get older. At present,
children of 0-14 years are 43.2% (male 39,151,304/female 37,353,737) while 15-24 years are
19.3% (male 17,486,117/female 16,732,533) of the estimated Nigerian population
(177,155,754) (Source: CIA Fact Book, 2014)
Elderly persons: The majority of the 70,000 deaths that occurred as a result of the European
heat wave of 2003 were among the elderly (Robine, Cheung, Roy, Oyen, Griffiths, Michel &
Herrmann, 2008). Elderly persons, 65 years and over, constitute 3% (male 2,621,845/female
2,861,826) of the estimated Nigerian population (177,155,754) (Source: CIA Fact book, 2014).
The increased vulnerability among children and the elderly can be attributed to the lesser
coping resources and meaningful social network among these demographic groups.
Recommendations
Public mental health education campaigns and effective risk communication strategies
need to be developed. Apart from increasing awareness on the issue of climate change,
education is a tool for community empowerment and fostering disaster resilience (see
Chukwuorji & Iorfa, 2014). Individuals’ understanding of climate change is thought to increase
when they learn about potential specific local climate impacts (Clayton, et al., 2014). This is
particularly true when an individual’s personal knowledge of direct impacts is combined with
exposure to news stories about the imminent risks of climate change (Akerlof, Maibach,
Fitzgerald, Cedeno & Neuman, 2013). Increasingly creating awareness on the mental health
implications of the change in local climate conditions is expected to increase the willingness of
people to respond to climate change. Climate change, environmental sustainability and
ecological literacy should be integrated into the curriculum of General Study courses in
Nigerian universities.
Access to mental health support personnel is one of the core issues in the Bill for the
establishment of Nigeria Public Health Act. Mental health support personnel was defined in the
report to include, but is not limited to, psychiatrist, psychologist, social workers, and volunteer
crisis counselling groups. If climate change is a public health emergency, health authorities
should provide information about and referrals of mental health support personnel to address
psychological responses to it. Also, mental health services should be incorporated into the
primary and secondary healthcare agencies. The mental healthcare community should organise
122
seminars and workshops that would improve the capacities of the mental healthcare
professionals. There should be increased training and workshops focusing on best practices in
the prevention and management of the psychological reactions to extreme weather events.
Clinical psychologists, counsellors, first responders and medical practitioners may also benefit
from such programmes.
An interagency working group on climate change and health needs to be put together.
The team of experts would identify basic and applied research, and science needs, especially
research on mitigation and adaptation strategies. Such a think-tank group should have
representation from government agencies, research institutes, universities and other NGOs
involved in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Perhaps, such a group already exists
without the inclusion of mental health experts. Effective research efforts must involve a wide
range of scientists and a broad-based, multi-agency mental health program that “builds on the
strengths of each agency to develop an overall comprehensive research agenda” (Portier, et al.,
2010, p. 10). Particularly, the diverse skills, multifaceted training and expertise of
psychologists should be harnessed in the African Climate Change Adaptation Initiative, which
is ongoing in some Nigerian universities. Psychologists are the solution providers to apathy and
denial in relation to climate change which prevents people from learning about the threat and
taking informed action.
Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) are a useful expansion on comparative risk

assessment approaches for policy making, and have already been applied to several potential
climate change mitigation strategies (Patz, et al., 2008). Mental health impact assessments
needs to be conducted for the novel strategies of climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Mental health emergency response teams should be established in all the states of the
federation to ensure the availability and utilisation of mental health services whenever there is
extreme weather events or disasters. Indirect effects of climate change variability on mental
health are many and varied. At present it may be difficult to delineate the boundary of where
the indirect effects stops. Thus research into this issue is an immediate need. It is also most
likely that some of the efforts geared towards climate change adaptation and mitigation will
have adverse mental health consequences. The impacts of mitigation and adaptation strategies
on mental health needs to be identified before implementation. One approach will be to have
mental health experts as part of the multi-disciplinary team of experts in the development of
effective strategies.
123
Researchers should determine the attributes of individuals and communities that are
more resilient or vulnerable to adverse mental health impacts of climate change. Some
traumatic stress can occur as a result of climate change-related environmental hazards.
Research is needed to understand such impacts and the extent to which mitigation and
adaptation strategies can help in improvements in mental wellbeing. More research is needed
regarding the link between environmental hazards, the onset and severity of psychological
disorders, and the relationship to climate change. Longitudinal research would also show the
trajectories of development and wellbeing among children who were in the prenatal stage of
development during climate-change induced disasters. There could be comparative studies
between such children and other control groups on a number of mental health indices.
Scientific research on vulnerable populations in mental health impacts of climate

change are scarce in most developing countries of the world. Researchers on climate-related
mental health disorders will help to identify vulnerable groups, because of the demographic
and geophysical variations in vulnerabilities to the mental health morbidity of climate change.
If the knowledge base on vulnerability is improved, it will pave the way for developing climate
change adaptation strategies (tailored to the ethno-cultural realities of the populations) and
prevent the mental health risks. Where the negative mental health consequences of climate
change are established, the psychosocial factors that mediate or moderate this relationship also
needs to be investigated. There have been studies on environmental attitude. The scientific
community should move on to also focus on surveys of Nigerian’s beliefs and attitudes towards
climate change, including perceptions of climate impacts and support for policies. The Yale
University in the United States is currently blazing the trail in this regard.
There is a lack of good statistics on mental health outcomes in Nigeria and little is
known about the national burden of climate change-related disorders. It is necessary for
Nigeria to have a national standard for climate change-related mortality and morbidity in order
to facilitate epidemiologic studies on mental health consequences of climate change and its
associated comorbid disorders. Another area where research effort is needed urgently is in the
psychology of communication and persuasion in identifying the factors most effective in
persuading people to take action. Since behaviour change by both individuals, groups and
government is the centre-piece of climate change response, research could show the form of
public education that would be most effective in bringing about appropriate behaviour change.
In Nigeria, there is little public education efforts that took advantage of psychology in ensuring
124
positive change. If climate change sets the pace in this regard, the nation and indeed Africa will
be better off in addressing the problem of climate change.
Summary and Conclusion

Climate change is expected to increase the incidence and prevalence of psychological
disorders, especially PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, suicides, and social
pathologies like aggression and violence. The impacts of climate change on mental health may
vary among individuals but no one is immune to its devastating psychological effects.
However, vulnerable populations include refugees and internally displaced persons, children,
the poor, the elderly, and those with existing mental health disorders. In Nigeria, the mental
health budget and service provision are grossly inadequate. Existing resources will further be
strained if there is massive increase in incidence and prevalence of mental illness in the
population. There will be increases in social and economic costs of mental illnesses – increased
interpersonal problems, expenses in mental health services, and loss of work hours - as the
psychological health burden of climate change increases.
Stakeholders should appreciate the mental health issues in climate change and recognise
the expertise of relevant mental health professionals in setting the national agenda for the
development of effective prevention and management programs. Evidently, climate change
endangers mental health, but there is need to improve and establish the scientific basis of how
this danger occurs, given that most of the assumed effects are presently speculative. It is the
responsibility of researchers to contribute to knowledge of these problems in order to inform
public discussion and health policy formulations. An understanding of the mental health risks
of variability in the earth’s ecosystem, development of empirical investigations and
identification of the impacts, and the establishment of functional social service systems to
prevent damages and respond to the needs of vulnerable populations should be prioritised.
Although climate change is a global problem, the mitigation strategies are at best
localised. Psychologists in most of the developing countries have not braced up to the
challenges of battling the effects that severe weather can have on mental health. If the Nigerian
Psychological Association (NPA) should raise a climate change task force, it is recommended
that the taskforce must cut across the subfields of psychology. In the same way as the
American Psychological Association Climate Change Taskforce’s example, the think tank
would review research and practice relevant to climate change, including work in
environmental and conservation psychology in Nigeria, as well as research on human responses
125
to disasters; spearhead efforts to encourage environmentally responsible behaviour, and lead

the research on psychological impacts of variability in the Earth’s climate system.
126
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Mental health emergency of climate change: Consequences and

Article in International Journal of Communication · March 2015

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Mental health emergency of climate change: Consequences and

The Concept of Climate Change

Two fundamental issues of psychosocial relevance in any discussion of climate change

Mental health consequences of climate change

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): PTSD is a psychological disorder that develops

increase in violent aggression. In a recent meta-analysis, Hsiang, Burke, and Miguel

Phobia Fear of...

Psychosocial factors in vulnerability to the mental health impacts of climate change

Displacement/forced migration: According to Fritze, Blashki, Burke and Wiseman (2008),

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2014) reported that in Nigeria, economic

Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) are a useful expansion on comparative risk

Scientific research on vulnerable populations in mental health impacts of climate

Summary and Conclusion

to disasters; spearhead efforts to encourage environmentally responsible behaviour, and lead

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