Climate change hits mental health, may up criminality: Study

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 10

Climate change, besides leading to physical destruction, is likely to affect the mental health of humans, a study has revealed.

Droughts, floods, rising sea levels, increasing ambient temperatures and other consequences of climatic change can produce increasing psychological distress through mediators such as economic strain, migration, lower social capital, acculturation stress and traumatic events, the study published this year has cautioned.

Calling for steps to check global warming through the release of green house gases, the study has suggested that provision of adequate treatment facilities to manage mental health woes should be undertaken, especially for natural disaster-related problems, when the vulnerability to stress is acute.

The study, conducted by four specialists from the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, Meteorological Centre, Chandigarh and Gian Sagar Medical College, Bannur (Karnataka), has been published in a recent issue of the Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Increased exposure to heat, the authors point out, is likely to become more common and since there is a suggested relation between temperature rise and aggressive behaviour, it is possible that the rates of aggression, criminality and suicides may increase over time due to global warming.

Heat waves have been associated with mental and behavioural disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, and dementia. “Extreme heat exposure can lead to physical as well as psychological exhaustion,” the study adds.

Climate-related disasters such as floods, hurricanes and bush-fires are often associated with stress-related psychiatric disorders. As the impact of climate change seems to be increasing, it is likely that a greater proportion of the population would be affected by the mental health consequences of climate change-related disasters.