Climate change is harming our mental and physical health
Key Takeaways
Climate change is increasing global temperatures, leading to a whole slew of health concerns, including health conditions due to heat and increases in ticks, mosquitoes, and jellyfish.
Marginalized populations are greatly affected by climate change—especially low-income and disabled people who can’t access care or air conditioning.
Climate change can also affect mental health, leading to anxiety, a feeling of powerlessness, and chronic worry.
States like Arizona are seeing record-hot temperatures. And this summer, poisonous jellyfish washed to shore along the English coastline, with marine biologists saying the hotter-than-normal temperatures are responsible. Meanwhile, Lyme disease–carrying ticks are expanding into new US territories as they chase the heat. In fact, according to scientists, the hottest days in Earth’s modern history were recorded earlier this month—due to constant oil, gas, and coal emissions and El Niño, a natural warming of waters that could also be intensified by climate change.[][][]
The greenhouse effect (which refers to human-made emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and water vapor, which traps heat) and changes in reflectivity from the earth’s surface (due to farming, road, construction, and deforestation), are impacting life on earth and human health.[][]
Neha Pathak, MD, co-founder of Georgia Clinicians for Climate Action, says the issue is urgent. “Doctors have to understand that climate change is affecting the health of our patients right now. This is not something we have to look forward to in the future. There are a range of impacts that are damaging the health of our patients in the near term.”
Dr. Pathak says extreme heat is pushing human tolerance to its outer limits. “We are reaching temperatures in parts of the globe that humans did not evolve to survive,” she says, noting that the human body has to work in overdrive to keep the body temperature safe. “Our hearts have to pump more strongly to push blood out to our skin, so that heat can dissipate into the air. We also have to sweat a lot more, which can be dehydrating and put a strain on our hearts and our kidneys,” she says.
Beyond the direct impact of heat itself, mosquitoes and ticks are populating more or new geographic areas. “Doctors have to have a higher suspicion for Lyme disease in the new areas, and other infectious diseases that are also carried by the same ticks that carry Lyme disease,” Dr. Pathak says. “We are also seeing mosquitoes that carry infectious diseases, like dengue, malaria, and other infectious diseases, spreading to new locations.” Other specific issues, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include increasing allergens, water and food quality and supply issues, air pollution, and severe weather.[]
Marginalized communities will be impacted by climate change in serious or fatal ways According to Shana Godfred-Cato, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah, climate change affects some groups more than others. “Low-income people may not be able to afford air conditioning or escape climate events. Some communities of color may live in urban heat islands. Indigenous people may have higher rates of chronic medical conditions, and climate change may impact their livelihood and food sources,” Dr. Godfred-Cato says. The consequences of climate change could also be fatal for patients with disabilities and pre-existing conditions, she adds.
According to Harvard University’s Center for Environment, “Climate change amplifies the marginalization experienced by persons with disabilities negatively affecting health, reducing access to healthcare services, food, water, and accessible infrastructure. People with psychosocial disabilities have triple the rate of mortality in heatwaves.”[]
The consequences touch everyone, unfortunately. “Children have physiologic differences from adults: for example, they breathe at a faster rate than adults, increasing exposure to air pollution,” Dr. Godfred-Cato explains. More so, she says, “Pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum people who are exposed to extreme heat, flooding, and wildfires have increased rates of pregnancy complications.”
People who work outdoors are at risk as well, she says, since their exposure to air pollution, extreme heat, and disease-carrying pests is greater than for people who remain mostly indoors.
Ultimately, no matter who the patient is, climate change will impact everyone as we all grow older. “As people age, their ability to compensate for high temperatures and air pollution decreases, therefore increasing the risk of complications for older adults,” Dr. Godfred-Cato emphasizes.
Dr. Pathak says that HCPs can help patients in tangible ways—today. “When it comes to extreme heat, we should be talking to our patients about finding cooling centers if they don’t have air conditioning, drinking more fluids to stay hydrated, and paying attention to the medication that they are taking,” Dr. Pathak says.
She notes that certain medications, like those that treat high blood pressure, can also affect the body’s ability to regulate temperature. In addition, HCPs need to be aware of new infectious disease–carrying vectors in their local areas, as well, and encourage patients to do tick checks and use spray to ward off mosquito bites.
Beyond the physical: managing the realities of eco-anxiety and climate grief
Just knowing how much the earth is suffering can be existentially distressing for people. According to Ryan Sultan, MD, a psychiatrist at Columbia University, “The health risks from climate change are multifaceted and far-reaching, affecting not just our physical well-being but also our mental health.”
Dr. Sultan says many people may feel chronic stress related to environmental changes—especially if their income is based on the environment. For example, tourism to beach towns can be affected when the oceans become less hospitable.[][]
“The uncertainty and fear for future generations' well-being can also lead to a unique kind of distress, often referred to as ‘eco-anxiety’ or ‘climate grief,’” Dr. Sultan says.
This sort of anxiety and grief doesn’t just affect the individual. It can have a profound effect on society as a whole—leading to helplessness and paralysis, “where individuals feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem and thus do nothing, thinking that someone else will handle it,” Dr. Sultan adds.
But on the other hand, he says, “it can also lead to a state of constant anxiety and fight, where individuals are doing everything they can to combat climate change, but are living in a state of high stress and worry.”
Dr. Sultan says the key is to remind anxious patients that while they may not have the power to affect global change on their own, they can make changes in their own lives and at the community level. “This can involve adopting more sustainable practices, advocating for climate policies, and educating others about the importance of addressing climate change,” he says. But as a society, “we need to foster a culture of collective action and responsibility. This involves acknowledging the reality of climate change and the emotions it brings up, and then channeling those feelings into action,” he continues.
HCPs can take action not only by advocating for better environmental policies but by acknowledging and training for climate anxiety—by learning about stress-related disorders and trauma responses and helping patients build resiliency.
Dr. Sultan reminds clinicians of this perspective. “It's crucial for doctors,” he says, “to be aware of the long-term mental health effects of displacements due to climate change, such as the loss of community and the sense of belonging, which can result in feelings of isolation and loneliness.” Moreover, HCPs should be trained in disaster response and recovery, he adds.
“This conversation is not as prevalent as it should be,” Dr. Sultan notes. “While there is increasing recognition of the physical health impacts of climate change, the mental health implications are often overlooked.”
Ultimately, Dr. Pathak believes climate change must be part of the HCP syllabus. “We have to educate ourselves within medical schools and in continuing education so that we can properly counsel our patients,” she says.