The climate crisis represents a growing threat to global well-being. Its connection to extreme weather events, temperature fluctuations, ecosystem degradation, and water scarcity exacerbates social inequalities, creating a toxic environment that harms the physical, mental, and emotional health of the younger generation. According to recent data published by the prestigious international journal Lancet Planetary Health, nearly 50% of the world’s children live in countries considered highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Children born after 2020 are expected to experience two to seven times more extreme weather disasters throughout their lives compared to their grandparents’ generation.
These figures are not theoretical. They translate into increased risks of premature births, low birth weight, vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, as well as complications linked to air pollution, wildfires, floods, and contamination of groundwater and soil.
Mental Health and Climate Change
A particularly concerning and understudied area is the mental health of adolescents. Research published in Lancet Planetary Health revealed that out of 948 studies examining the health impacts of climate change on young people, only 19% addressed mental health disorders. Even fewer studies acknowledged daily anxiety, eco-anxiety, or feelings of sadness and despair—emotions extensively reported by adolescents themselves in qualitative interviews.
Moreover, repeated exposure to natural disasters like wildfires and floods has a cumulative effect, increasing the likelihood of mental health issues. Specifically, the second exposure within a two-year period has a stronger negative impact on psychological well-being than the first.
Adolescents and children living in developing countries or rural areas—where vulnerabilities are greater and support systems weaker—face even higher risks. Uncertainty about the future, destruction of homes and schools, forced displacement, and financial insecurity contribute to increased rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and emotional instability. This younger generation experiences negative emotions not only due to actual events but also from anticipation or prediction of future threats, such as rising sea levels or prolonged heatwaves.
Constant exposure to dystopian environmental scenarios—especially through social media—intensifies eco-anxiety, often reaching clinical levels. The influence of digital information is double-edged: on one hand, it provides access to knowledge, awareness, networking, and activism; on the other, it subjects youth to overwhelming traumatic content and sometimes misinformation. Many adolescents report that their first encounter with the concept of climate crisis triggered profound existential anxiety and feelings of helplessness.
The educational system can serve as a protective factor. However, as highlighted by the young participants in the research, education often remains limited to theoretical knowledge about the mechanisms of climate change, neglecting its social, psychological, and political dimensions. Likewise, critical analysis of information and empowerment for local or global activism are rarely addressed. Although the Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes young people’s right to participate in policymaking and decisions affecting them, their involvement remains limited in practice. Young people call for spaces of dialogue both across generations and among peers to strengthen their sense of belonging and agency.
Research Gaps and the Way Forward
The study also points to significant research gaps: limited qualitative studies, lack of data from many countries, and few evaluations of the mental health impacts of adaptation and mitigation efforts targeting youth. Notably, less than 5% of studies examined issues such as population displacement, social cohesion, and children’s resilience to the crisis.
In conclusion, climate change is not simply an environmental, political, or technological challenge—it is a profound social and psychological crisis, especially for our youngest citizens who bear the heaviest burden of our decisions.
Promoting a policy agenda that places young people’s mental health at its core is crucial. We need more interdisciplinary research, participatory educational reform, and above all, empowerment of children themselves as agents of change.
Without these steps, the ecological crisis will inevitably evolve into a mental health crisis for the next generation.
References:
Malak Mohamed et al., Lancet Planet Health 2025; 9: e337-46.
Lowe SR, Garfin DR, Lancet Public Health 2025; 10(5): e354-e355. DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(25)00097-0.
Dr. Theodora Psaltopoulou is a Pathologist and Professor of Therapeutics, Epidemiology, and Preventive Medicine at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
