Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Climate change anxiety in young people

Climate change is affecting mental health in all communities, especially in young people. It is critical that we consider how to support young people affected by climate change anxiety and the possibilities of looking forward to supporting them.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Sheffield, P. E. & Landrigan, P. J. Environ. Health Perspect. 119, 291–298 (2011).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Martinez Garcia, D. & Sheehan, M. Int. J. Health Serv. 46, 79–105 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. The Challenges of Climate Change: Children on the front line (UNICEF Office of Research, 2014).

  4. More than 10 million people, including children, living in Pakistan’s flood-affected areas still lack access to safe drinking water. UNICEF (21 March 2023).

  5. James, A. BMJ 377, o1180 (2022).

  6. Farrell, J. et al. Science 374, 6567 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. WMO update: 50:50 chance of global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5°C threshold in next five years. World Meteorological Organization (9 May 2022).

  8. Benoit, L., Thomas, I. & Martin, A. Child Adolesc. Ment. Health 27, 47–58 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Stone, D. M., Mack, K. A. & Qualters, J. Morb. Mortal. Wkly Rep. 72, 160–162 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Nairn, K. Young 27, 435–450 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Mah, A. Y. J. et al. J. Anxiety Disord. 75, 102282 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Bright, M. L. & Eames, C. Aust. J. Environ. Educ. 38, 13–25 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Clayton, S., Manning, C., Krygsman, K. & Speiser, M. Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance (American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica, 2017).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Janis Whitlock.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Whitlock, J. Climate change anxiety in young people. Nat. Mental Health 1, 297–298 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-023-00059-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-023-00059-3

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing