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Mental health risk and resilience among climate scientists

Nature Climate Change volume 8, pages 260–261 (2018)Cite this article

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Awareness of the threats to mental health posed by climate change leads to questions about the potential impacts on climate scientists because they are immersed in depressing information and may face apathy, denial and even hostility from others. But they also have sources of resilience.

Acknowledgement that the climate is changing is increasingly paired with awareness that it will affect human well-being. A growing body of research not only describes the implications for physical health1 but also documents, with varying levels of certainty, a range of potential impacts on mental health2. Severe weather events such as hurricanes, droughts and wildfires — all projected to become more frequent as the climate changes — are clearly associated with threats to mental health such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression. The slower but more profound changes in the environment that result from rising temperatures, changing patterns of precipitation, and higher sea levels will also have negative impacts on human well-being. Negative emotions are frequently reported in response to climate change3,4. It is likely that some people will experience levels of fear and anxiety that impair mental health.

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Fig. 1: Frequency counts for the emotion terms mentioned by more than two people in letters from climate scientists.

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  1. The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH, USA

    Susan Clayton

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  1. Susan Clayton
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Correspondence to Susan Clayton.

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Clayton, S. Mental health risk and resilience among climate scientists. Nature Clim Change 8, 260–261 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0123-z

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