The climate crisis is already having repercussions on the mental health of Quebecers, and these are likely to worsen over the next few years, concludes the largest university study conducted to date on this public health issue. The researchers’ findings should also encourage the government to invest more in measures to adapt to climate change.
Although the worst of global warming is yet to come, “the psychosocial impacts are already very real”, summarizes Professor Mélissa Généreux, who heads the multidisciplinary research team of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University. de Sherbrooke who carried out this study of 10,000 people.
Concretely, 62% of respondents said “they had already experienced disruptions linked to climate change”. These disruptions can be climate related, such as floods or droughts, health problems, property damage or financial loss.
However, these situations can have repercussions on mental health, which are likely to last a long time, notes Mr.me Generous. “Extreme weather events are responsible for mental disorders that can last for months in many victims. She has worked herself in communities hit by extreme events, including the floods in the Gatineau region in 2019, the devastating fires in the Fort McMurray region in 2016 and the Lac-Mégantic tragedy.
In the study, 43% of respondents who suffered financial losses from the climate crisis also said they suffered from symptoms of major depression, a proportion 2.5 times higher than in the general population.
Problems caused by climate change – heat, smog, ticks, ragweed, etc. – also seem to play an important role in the development of mental health disorders. Some 28% of people who have experienced health problems caused by these upheavals in the recent past reported moderate or severe symptoms of major depression, a proportion 60% higher than in the general population.
These findings are of even greater concern to Mme Generous as the effects of climatic upheavals – heat waves, droughts, coastal erosion, floods, forest fires, etc. – are inevitably destined to worsen in Quebec, where the climate is warming up two or three times faster than the world average.
“Climate change is already here and it can only increase in the coming years, which will [augmenter] the repercussions on mental health, she points out. What concerns me is that we already have a population whose psychological health has been weakened by the pandemic. To this, we add a psychological burden linked to climate change which can only increase. “
Youth in Crisis
The researchers also found that young Quebecers aged 18 to 24 are more “eco-anxiety” than ever, because of the climate sinking predicted by science and the political inaction they say they see. Almost half of them (49%) said they had experienced at least one manifestation of “eco-anxiety” in the past two weeks, compared to 26% for the general population.
“These data are consistent with the fact that it is young people who will primarily experience the consequences of climate change,” says Mélissa Généreux. “Young people are clear: for them, the pandemic is less of a threat than climate change. And they see that climate change is a bigger threat, but also that the government’s efforts are falling short. “
Both in Quebec City and Ottawa, but also internationally, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are clearly insufficient to avoid a warming that could permanently disrupt the world in which young people will still live for decades. who are now reaching adulthood.
“Ecoanxiety can only increase if we continue to face political inaction. It could be mitigated in a context where we would give more hope to young people and where we would show them that they are really heard. But this is not currently the case. I am therefore particularly worried about the well-being of our young people, ”says Mme Generous.
This study, carried out in collaboration with the Ouranos research consortium and the Institut national de santé publique du Québec, should therefore encourage governments to act to limit the psychological repercussions of the climate crisis. In total, 57% of respondents are of the opinion that an effective fight against climate change must include a dimension devoted to health in the measures or policies put in place.
“If we do nothing, what we see in our study can only grow over time, especially among young people. We could be heading for an even bigger crisis in psychological health. But this is not inevitable. We can give ourselves the means, with an adaptation strategy, to reduce the psychological impacts, ”explains the researcher.