Climate crisis and mental well-being: view from South Asia

International audience

Mental health and climate change: tackling invisible injustice

The Negative Bidirectional Interaction Between Climate Change and the Prevalence and Care of Liver Disease: A Joint BSG, BASL, EASL, and AASLD Commentary

Agriculture production is directly dependent on climate change and weather. Possible changes in temperature, precipitation and CO2 concentration are expected to significantly impact crop growth and ultimately we lose our crop productivity and indirectly affect the sustainable food availability issue. The overall impact of climate change on worldwide food production is considered to be low to moderate with successful adaptation and adequate irrigation. Climate change has a serious impact on the availability of various resources on the earth especially water, which sustains life on this planet. The global food security situation and outlook remains delicately imbalanced amid surplus food production and the prevalence of hunger, due to the complex interplay of social, economic, and ecological factors that mediate food security outcomes at various human and institutional scales. Weather aberration poses complex challenges in terms of increased variability and risk for food producers and the energy and water sectors. Changes in the biosphere, biodiversity and natural resources are adversely affecting human health and quality of life. Throughout the 21st century, India is projected to experience warming above global level. India will also begin to experience more seasonal variation in temperature with more warming in the winters than summers. Longevity of heat waves across India has extended in recent years with warmer night temperatures and hotter days, and this trend is expected to continue. Strategic research priorities are outlined for a range of sectors that underpin global food security, including: agriculture, ecosystem services from agriculture, climate change, international trade, water management solutions, the water-energy-food security nexus, service delivery to smallholders and women farmers, and better governance models and regional priority setting. There is a need to look beyond agriculture and invest in affordable and suitable farm technologies if the problem of food insecurity is to be addressed in a sustainable manner. Introduction Globally, agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change. This vulnerability is relatively higher in India in view of the large population depending on agriculture and poor coping capabilities of small and marginal farmers. Impacts of climate change pose a serious threat to food security. “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (World Food Summit, 1996). This definition gives rise to four dimensions of food security: availability of food, accessibility (economically and physically), utilization (the way it is used and assimilated by the human body) and stability of these three dimensions. According to the United Nations, in 2015, there are still 836 million people in the world living in extreme poverty (less than USD1.25/day) (UN, 2015). And according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), at least 70 percent of the very poor live in rural areas, most of them depending partly (or completely) on agriculture for their livelihoods. It is estimated that 500 million smallholder farms in the developing world are supporting almost 2 billion people, and in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa these small farms produce about 80 percent of the food consumed. Climate change threatens to reverse the progress made so far in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. As highlighted by the assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC), climate change augments and intensifies risks to food security for the most vulnerable countries and populations. Few of the major risks induced by climate change, as identified by IPCC have direct consequences for food security (IPCC, 2007). These are mainly to loss of rural livelihoods and income, loss of marine and coastal ecosystems, livelihoods loss of terrestrial and inland water ecosystems and food insecurity (breakdown of food systems). Rural farmers, whose livelihood depends on the use of natural resources, are likely to bear the brunt of adverse impacts. Most of the crop simulation model runs and experiments under elevated temperature and carbon dioxide indicate that by 2030, a 3-7% decline in the yield of principal cereal crops like rice and wheat is likely in India by adoption of current production technologies. Global warming impacts growth, reproduction and yields of food and horticulture crops, increases crop water requirement, causes more soil erosion, increases thermal stress on animals leading to decreased milk yields and change the distribution and breeding season of fisheries. Fast changing climatic conditions, shrinking land, water and other natural resources with rapid growing population around the globe has put many challenges before us (Mukherjee, 2014). Food is going to be second most challenging issue for mankind in time to come. India will also begin to experience more seasonal variation in temperature with more warming in the winters than summers (Christensen et al., 2007). Climate change is posing a great threat to agriculture and food security in India and it's subcontinent. Water is the most critical agricultural input in India, as 55% of the total cultivated areas do not have irrigation facilities. Currently we are able to secure food supplies under these varying conditions. Under the threat of climate variability, our food grain production system becomes quite comfortable and easily accessible for local people. India's food grain production is estimated to rise 2 per cent in 2020-21 crop years to an all-time high of 303.34 million tonnes on better output of rice, wheat, pulse and coarse cereals amid good monsoon rains last year. In the 2019-20 crop year, the country's food grain output (comprising wheat, rice, pulses and coarse cereals) stood at a record 297.5 million tonnes (MT). Releasing the second advance estimates for 2020-21 crop year, the agriculture ministry said foodgrain production is projected at a record 303.34 MT. As per the data, rice production is pegged at record 120.32 MT as against 118.87 MT in the previous year. Wheat production is estimated to rise to a record 109.24 MT in 2020-21 from 107.86 MT in the previous year, while output of coarse cereals is likely to increase to 49.36 MT from 47.75 MT. Pulses output is seen at 24.42 MT, up from 23.03 MT in 2019-20 crop year. In the non-foodgrain category, the production of oilseeds is estimated at 37.31 MT in 2020-21 as against 33.22 MT in the previous year. Sugarcane production is pegged at 397.66 MT from 370.50 MT in the previous year, while cotton output is expected to be higher at 36.54 million bales (170 kg each) from 36.07. This production figure seem to be sufficient for current population, but we need to improve more and more with vertical farming and advance agronomic and crop improvement tools for future burgeoning population figure under the milieu of climate change issue. Our rural mass and tribal people have very limited resources and they sometime complete depend on forest microhabitat. To order to ensure food and nutritional security for growing population, a new strategy needs to be initiated for growing of crops in changing climatic condition. The country has a large pool of underutilized or underexploited fruit or cereals crops which have enormous potential for contributing to food security, nutrition, health, ecosystem sustainability under the changing climatic conditions, since they require little input, as they have inherent capabilities to withstand biotic and abiotic stress. Apart from the impacts on agronomic conditions of crop productions, climate change also affects the economy, food systems and wellbeing of the consumers (Abbade, 2017). Crop nutritional quality become very challenging, as we noticed that, zinc and iron deficiency is a serious global health problem in humans depending on cereal-diet and is largely prevalent in low-income countries like Sub-Saharan Africa, and South and South-east Asia. We report inefficiency of modern-bred cultivars of rice and wheat to sequester those essential nutrients in grains as the reason for such deficiency and prevalence (Debnath et al., 2021). Keeping in mind the crop yield and nutritional quality become very daunting task to our food security issue and this can overcome with the proper and time bound research in cognizance with the environment. Threat and challenges In recent years, climate change has become a debatable issue worldwide. South Asia will be one of the most adversely affected regions in terms of impacts of climate change on agricultural yield, economic activity and trading policies. Addressing climate change is central for global future food security and poverty alleviation. The approach would need to implement strategies linked with developmental plans to enhance its adaptive capacity in terms of climate resilience and mitigation. Over time, there has been a visible shift in the global climate change initiative towards adaptation. Adaptation can complement mitigation as a cost-effective strategy to reduce climate change risks. The impact of climate change is projected to have different effects across societies and countries. Mitigation and adaptation actions can, if appropriately designed, advance sustainable development and equity both within and across countries and between generations. One approach to balancing the attention on adaptation and mitigation strategies is to compare the costs and benefits of both the strategies. The most imminent change is the increase in the atmospheric temperatures due to increase levels of GHGs (Green House Gases) i.e. carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) etc into the atmosphere. The global mean annual temperatures at the end of the 20th

Uniting the Global Gastroenterology Community to Meet the Challenge of Climate Change and Non-Recyclable Waste

78.2 Impact of Climate Change on the Health and Well-Being of Indigenous Communities in Australia

Climate change impacts on mental health come in various forms. They include the trauma of experiencing extreme weather events and the longer-term effects thereof, such as PTSD or depression; implications of heat for persons with mental health conditions, in particular those on certain medications; as well as climate anxiety, i.e. the mental and emotional distress in response to the ongoing changes in the climate. Whilst those mechanisms are increasingly recognised, less is known about the extent of those impacts in the European population and how they are being addressed in policy and practice. In recognition of this knowledge gap, this workshop organised by the European Climate and Health Observatory lines up panellists from academia, national public health institutes and European and international organisations to discuss what is being done to response to the mental health implications of the changing climate. Firstly, the responses at the individual level will be discussed. The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) will present the results of the 2025 cross-European Living and Working in the EU e-survey on experiencing climate change and concerns about future impacts, including the associations of those experiences and concerns with the characteristics of the respondents and their mental well-being. The Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management will share the COST Action CliMent findings on effective interventions, best practices, and regional strategies that contribute to global efforts in addressing and mitigating the psychological effects of climate change. Secondly, with regards to the institutional settings, the Austrian NPHI will present a concept for a digital solution to deal with heat impacts on health care in psychiatric/psychosocial care. The workshop will then focus on the coverage of mental health in policies and action plans. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development will share the findings of their work looking at the impact of climate change on mental health, the extent to which OECD countries are introducing policies to respond to the impact of climate change on mental health, and what these priorities these policies are focused on. Columbia University will zoom in on the coverage of mental health in heat health action plans across the globe, with a particular focus on Europe. To round off the discussion, the WHO Regional Office for Europe will discuss the lessons learnt from their 2025 collection of case studies on responses to mental health impacts of climate change. The discussion with the audience will focus on the sharing of practices in responding to mental health impacts and identification of gaps for further action in policy and practice. Key messages • Increased awareness of the urgency and importance of addressing the impacts of climate change on mental health. • Greater understanding on the effectiveness of the wide range of interventions in policy and practice that address mental health impacts of climate change. Speakers/Panellists Eszter Sandor Dankhazi Eurofound, Dublin, Ireland Chiara Cadeddu Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands Michele Cecchini OECD, Paris, France Robbie Parks Columbia University, New York, USA Mareike Kroll WHO/Europe, European Centre for Environment and Health, Bonn, Germany

Human-induced climate change is occurring at a fast rate, and agriculture, for its greater dependence on nature, is the most vulnerable sector to climate change. The rate of global warming has increased, and among the greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide is mainly responsible for this. It is projected that climate change may adversely affect global food security in this century. South Asia accommodated nearly half (48%) of the World's multidimensional poverty in 2017, and any adverse impact on agriculture will hurt South Asian countries very badly. Among eight South Asian countries, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka together have nearly 99% share of total GDP and 97.8% of the total population of South Asia in 2018. This study attempts to find out the evidence of the impact of climate change on agriculture in South Asia and five selected countries mentioned above based on data collected from the central database of the World Bank for the period of 1960 to 2016. We begin by assuming that CO2 can affect the agricultural value-added and examine whether there is any equilibrium long-run relationship among value added by agriculture, CO2 emissions, land under cultivation of cereal crops, and rainfall using the ARDL bounds test and error correction model. We do not find any evidence of the adverse impact of climate change on agriculture in South Asia and five selected countries.KeywordsAutoregressive distributed lagged modelError correction modelClimate changeSouth Asian CountriesValue added by agriculture

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges, and it has a varied range of health implications on different sections of the society which varies according to the geographical region, but there is a lack of clarity about its impact on the health and well-being of people staying in of developing countries like India. The major objective of this paper is to study the impact of climate change on the mental and physical health of people staying in Kolkata and its suburbs. A random stratified sampling method has been used (age group of 20–50 years); the data were collected through online surveys. Twenty-two subindicators which were a part of either of the two domains were used for the analysis. These subindicators indicators were divided into three broad domains which deal with the kinds of loss faced by the respondents and how their physical health and mental well-being were affected. Likert scale was used, and the data were processed using SPSS software by correlation analysis, PCA, ANOVA. For physical health analysis, parameters such as allergies and respiratory disorders were considered, and for mental health experiences centering on posttraumatic stress disorder, stress due to livelihood uncertainty and fluctuations in productivity levels and alteration in their endurance level was considered. It has been observed that inter- and intra-variations in the responses lie between different age groups, sex ratio, and place of residence. However, the way in which climate change has affected the mental and physical health and well-being of the respondents is extremely unique and hard to homogeneously categorize. This is dependent on the perception of the respondents based on their memories and past experiences.

Malaria is a serious global health issue, resulting in an estimated 219 million cases and 660,000 deaths in 2010, many of them in Africa.1 Malaria transmission is tied closely to environmental variables such as rainfall and temperature—even when there’s plenty of rainfall to produce breeding pools for the Anopheles mosquitoes that spread malaria, hot temperatures can hamper mosquito development.2 Some early projections predicted that climate change would cause an increase in malaria cases,3 but more recent reports suggest it’s more likely that cases will shift in their distribution rather than rise overall.4 In this issue of EHP investigators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) report their projections, using a new modeling tool, that there probably will not be a significant increase in malaria prevalence in West Africa, even during a worst-case scenario of increased rainfall in the region.5 The authors used the Hydrology, Entomology, and Malaria Transmission Simulator (HYDREMATS) to estimate the impact of climate change on malaria transmission in West Africa. HYDREMATS is a combined hydrology and entomology model of malaria transmission developed at MIT by coauthor Elfatih A.B. Eltahir, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and former graduate student Arne Bomblies, now an assistant professor at the University of Vermont. The model uses high-resolution data on environmental variables including rainfall, temperature, topography, and soil conditions to model ephemeral breeding pools that form during intense rains. The model also tracks the simulated behavior of individual mosquitoes as they interact with their environment. The researchers used current climate data to model vectorial capacity, a measure of how efficiently mosquitoes spread malaria. They then looked at climate predictions for the time period 2080–2099 and determined which combination of temperature and rainfall changes corresponded to best- and worst-case scenarios in terms of malaria transmission. They conducted simulations using the best- and worst-case climate projections to predict vectorial capacity under each new scenario. The model did not include changes in malaria transmission due to interventions such as spraying, mosquito netting, and preventive medications. Figure 1 A child with malaria receives care in Sierra Leone. This country lies in a part of West Africa that is already saturated with malaria, and prevalence is not projected to increase with climate change. Figure 1 An ephemeral pool in Niger provides a perfect breeding site for Anopheles mosquitoes. This and other northern parts of West Africa could become too hot to sustain malaria. The northernmost areas studied are currently too dry and warm for effective malaria transmission. According to the model, they could become more suitable only if the climate becomes substantially wetter, but even then high temperatures likely would prohibit sustained transmission. The middle areas are expected to see a decrease in suitability for malaria transmission even under the wettest predictions of future climate. Southern areas could become even more suitable for transmission, but the persistent prevalence of malaria in these areas means a rise in cases is unlikely unless many people immigrate. Therefore, the investigators conclude, it appears unlikely, on the basis of this model, that climate change will increase malaria transmission in West Africa.5 “The main advantage of our malaria transmission model is that it provides a more detailed and direct relationship among environmental variables and malaria transmission than previous models,” says coauthor Teresa K. Yamana, a PhD student. “This is especially true for rainfall, because the timing of rain is just as important as the amount of rain. For example, more puddles form if there’s a big storm compared to if the same amount of rain falls over the course of several days.” Another strength of the study is its consideration of a wide range of climate predictions. Yamana explains that climate impact studies may be based on the climate predictions of a single model without knowing whether that model accurately represents the region of interest. Others average the predictions made by multiple models, but this is not a good strategy in the case of West Africa: “Half of the predictions say the climate will be wetter, half say it will be drier,6” she says, “so the average is something close to no change in rainfall—this could end up being very far from the truth.” Jonathan Patz, director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is impressed by the researchers’ modeling because it “included a range of best- and worst-case scenarios to avoid bias. They also considered both temperature and rainfall, essential for malaria estimates.” He says, “Their findings are consistent with expectations that temperature projections alone explain only a part of malaria risk, and disease risk will considerably depend on rainfall and other environmental factors, particularly hydrological dynamics that vary by location.”

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article ProfessionalFull AccessThe Clock Is Ticking: Are We Prepared for Mass Climate Migration?German Velez, M.D., Balkozar Adam, M.D., Olivia Shadid, M.D., Lauren Schooner, M.D.German VelezSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Balkozar AdamSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Olivia ShadidSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Lauren SchoonerSearch for more papers by this author, M.D.Published Online:24 Mar 2023https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2023.04.4.3AbstractOver the next several decades, the impact of climate change will force millions of people to leave their homes and seek shelter in other countries. These migrants will require significant mental health support.iStock/Cheryl RamalhoThe impact of climate change poses a major challenge to peace in the coming decades. As outlined in the Global Peace Index 2019 report, one of the most pressing concerns relates to the growth in climate-induced mass migration. According to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the planet could see a greater temperature increase in the next 50 years than it did in the last 6,000 years combined. Should climate-related displacement reach the scale that current research suggests is likely, it will amount to a vast remapping of the world’s populations. As mental health professionals, it is our responsibility to advocate for policies that help guarantee the human rights and well-being of the people affected by this uprooting and the inevitable change in worldwide demographics.Currently, 1% of the world is considered a barely livable hot zone, but by 2070, nearly a fifth of the land on the planet could hold this designation, from Central America to Sudan to the Mekong Delta. A 2017 study in Science Advances found that by 2100, temperatures could rise to the point that just going outside for a few hours in some places, including parts of India and Eastern China, “will result in death even for the fittest of humans.” The result will almost certainly be the greatest wave of global migration the world has seen. According to The New York Times, more than 30 million migrants could head toward the United States border over the next 30 years.People are already beginning to flee. In Southeast Asia, where increasingly unpredictable monsoon rainfall and drought have made farming more difficult, the World Bank points to more than 8 million people who have moved toward the Middle East, Europe, and North America. In the African Sahel, millions of rural people have been streaming toward the coasts and the cities amid drought and widespread crop failures.It is well documented that migration is a highly stressful, traumatic experience that includes potentially deadly situations before, during, and after the movement. As the world’s population shifts in response to climate change, mental health professionals are going to be faced with an increasingly culturally diverse patient population; patients with increased trauma related to migration; acculturation difficulties; and the consequences of migration in the host communities. The literature finds some evidence of poorer mental health and well-being among migrants and displaced populations compared with populations of non-movers in the countries and communities of origin. For example, a cross-national study found that Mexican migrants in the United States had higher levels of depression compared with their counterparts who never left Mexico.In June 2022, the World Health Organization issued a policy brief highlighting actions for countries to take. It emphasized the serious risk to the mental health and well-being of migrants and urged countries to include mental health support in their responses to the climate crisis. It is our responsibility to use our voices as trusted mental health professionals to advocate for policies that facilitate progressive migration, education that decreases fear, and political resistance to avoid anti-immigration backlash. We must actively prepare, both materially and politically, for climate change and migration to reshape the future. ■Resources“Deadly heat waves projected in the densely populated agricultural regions of South Asia”The World Health Organization’s policy brief: “Mental health and Climate Change: Policy Brief”German Velez, M.D., is a general psychiatry resident at Boston University Medical Center.Balkozar Adam, M.D., is a child and adolescent psychiatrist with Burrell Behavioral Health and a professor emeritus at the University of Missouri.Olivia Shadid, M.D., is a child psychiatry fellow at the University of New Mexico.Lauren Schooner, M.D., is a general psychiatry resident at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. ISSUES NewArchived

Climate-health literacy is the ability to find, access, understand, interpret, evaluate, and communicate information about the impact of climate change on human health and to make decisions and act accordingly to that information. Climate change affects people's health in numerous ways, both directly and indirectly, e.g., by increasing the risks of cardiovascular disease, infections, depression, anxiety disorders, and trauma. It is important for health professionals to understand the complex interaction between climate change and health. A teaching concept is presented that incorporates the core elements of climate-health literacy. On a first level, physical and climatological basics are taught, direct and indirect impacts of climate change on human health, climate protective measures, the psychological background of climate-protective behavior, and professional ethics. Furthermore, via self-awareness and self-reflection, the impact of climate change on the student's mental health should be evaluated. In an advanced level, the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on mental health are taught, coping strategies, resilience, and vulnerability, as well as the role of health-care professionals in the climate crisis. In expert-level lectures, the knowledge can be deepened, and special content like activist burnout can be addressed.

There is growing evidence that climate change is linked to adverse mental health outcomes, with both direct and indirect impacts already being felt globally, including within the United Kingdom (UK). With the UK parliament tasked with passing legislation to mitigate against and adapt to climate change, it is well placed to take a lead in implementing policies that reduce the impact of climate change on mental health and even provide mental health benefits (e.g., by increasing access to green space). The extent to which the UK parliament considers the relationship between climate change and mental health in its decision-making was previously unknown. We report, through quantitative thematic analysis of the UK Hansard database, that the UK parliament has only infrequently made links between climate change and mental health. Where links have been made, the primary focus of the speeches were around flooding and anxiety. Key mental health impacts of climate change reported in the academic literature, such as high temperature and suicides, or experiences of eco-anxiety, were found to be missing entirely. Further, policies suggested in UK parliament to minimise the impact of climate change on mental health were focused on pushing adaptation measures such as flood defences rather than climate mitigation, indicating potential missed opportunities for effective policies with co-benefits for tackling climate change and mental health simultaneously. Therefore, this research suggests a need to raise awareness for UK policymakers of the costs of climate inaction on mental health, and potential co-benefits of climate action on mental health. Our results provide insight into where links have and have not been made to date, to inform targeted awareness raising and ultimately equip policymakers to protect the UK from the increasingly large impacts of climate change on mental health.

Background/rationaleThe impact of climate change on the mental health of young people is poorly understood. Emerging evidence suggests that exposure to climate change exerts a disproportionate mental health burden on young people. An understanding of the risk factors (RFs) and protective factors (PFs) that affect the likelihood of mental health impacts arising from exposure to climate change is required to support youth wellbeing. Aims/objectivesThis review scopes the current research on what and how RFs and PFs are related to the mental health impacts of both direct and indirect exposure to climate change for young people. RFs and PFs were reviewed through the lens of ecological system theory. MethodsWe conducted systematic searches in four databases: PubMed, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and Scopus. Grey literature searches were conducted in ProQuest Dissertations, GreyLit.org, OpenGrey, and relevant organisations’ websites. We included 92 empirical studies focused on the RFs and PFs of the mental wellbeing under the impact of climate change of young people (0–24). We extracted data on study characteristics, type of climate change event, mental health outcomes, RFs and PFs, and associated ecological system level. ResultsThe current evidence base focuses predominantly on young people's experience of PTSD (k = 59), depression (k = 26), or anxiety (k = 17) mainly following exposure to singular climate change-related natural disaster events. Only four studies explored the impacts of climate change in general. Majority of the studies investigated RFs and PFs at the individual level and at the micro-system level. ConclusionsSeveral RFs and PFs were identified, such as coping strategies, family factors (e.g. parenting style), social support, community connection, and cultural identity. Positioning the mental health impacts of singular events within the broader context of ongoing and escalating climate change impacts will better inform the development of interventions that seek to build resilience among young people.

Background: Climate change-related events such as floods, droughts, and wildfires have been shown to affect global mental health. As climate change worsens, extreme weather events increase, leading to more climate-related mental health disorders globally.Objective: This review article assesses the impact of mental health and climate change in Africa to identify trends, research gaps, and potential interventions.Methods: A scoping review methodology, in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, was employed. A search strategy was developed using MeSH and synonym terms to search PubMed, Web of Science, and African Journal Online databases from January 2000 to April 2025. A total of 2332 titles and abstracts were screened.Results: Sixteen articles were included in our final analysis. The studies included were conducted in three East African countries, three North African countries, two West African countries, two Central African countries, and one Southern African country. They were published between 2015 and 2024. Most (56%; n = 9) of the studies were cross-sectional studies. Climate change-related events, such as flooding, drought, and sea-level rise, have been found to affect mental health outcomes in countries like Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria, and Kenya. Commonly cited mental health outcomes included higher anxiety levels and lower well-being among relocated individuals, persistent stress and anxiety due to flooding in Ghana, and significant post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among schoolchildren in Namibia. Vulnerable populations like children, adolescents, women, climate migrants, people living with HIV, and rural populations were found to be most impacted by climate change-related events.Conclusion: While this review highlights an increasing trend in the impact of climate change on the mental health of individuals in Africa, more studies are necessary to establish the relationship between mental health and climate change, and to develop interventions and policies that address the growing mental health burden resulting from climate change.