Climate change fuelling mental health crisis in areas most affected by climate crisis

The authors of the study published this week in the Journal of Climate Change and Health have called for mental health supports to be built into climate adaptation efforts to help young people facing an uncertain future.

We already know that climate change is threatening child and adolescent health worldwide, but there is limited research on its effects on mental health in the low- and middle-income countries that are most affected by climate crisis.

The study reveals that climate change is having a severe impact on adolescent mental health in southern Madagascar. The mixed-methods study gathered survey data from 83 adolescents and focus groups with 48 participants across six rural villages in March 2024.

Young people in the region report extremely high levels of anxiety, depression, and climate change worry, with many describing a sense of hopelessness about the future. Participants described feeling powerless, with one adolescent saying, "I have no idea what I can do to be happy" and another indicating "life is a misery."

"Young people in southern Madagascar are the unwilling pioneers of the impact of climate change. They can provide important insights into the way climate changes impact on adolescent mental health," explains lead author on the paper Dr Kristin Hadfield, Associate Professor in the School of Psychology and Trinity Centre for Global Health at Trinity College Dublin.

"This research makes it clear that climate change is not just an environmental issue -- it is a mental health issue as well. We found that chronic climate stressors -- not just extreme weather events -- are already shaping adolescent mental health. In higher-income countries, climate anxiety often focuses on future risks, but in Madagascar, young people are already living the reality."

The study, conducted led by researchers in Trinity's School of Psychology with colleagues in the Catholic University of Madagascar, Queen Mary University of London, University College London, and CBM Global, found that climate change affected adolescent mental health through three main pathways: loss of household resources, uncertainty about the future, and disruption of coping mechanisms.

Food insecurity is particularly severe -- 90% of households had run out of food in the past year, and 69% of adolescents had gone an entire day without eating. The mixed-methods study gathered survey data from 83 adolescents and focus groups with 48 participants across six rural villages in March 2024.

Many expressed deep distress over their families' struggles, and most had witnessed people in their communities starve to death. As one adolescent put it: "so many died … there were many elders, but they died because of the malnutrition." Another stated simply: "there is no water and when sunlight is burning, we are suffering."

Isabelle Mareschal, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, said: "Young people in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This research finds that we need to also consider how climate change impacts their mental health. We hope that these findings can help inform interventions to improve mental health outcomes, with a focus on young people in low and middle income countries."

Dr Nambinina Rasolomalala, Catholic University of Madagascar, said: "Adolescents in Androy, southern Madagascar, speak of famine, fear, and futures stolen by drought and sandstorms. With crops failing and water scarce, many adolescents are forced to leave their communities to survive, while those who stay face hunger, lost education, and deep despair."

Satry Ramaroson, Madagascar Country Director for CBM Global, added: "Climate change is causing suffering for children and adolescents in the South of Madagascar. Recurring droughts fuel food crises and loss of hope, with adolescents with disabilities among the most affected."