The damages brought by climate change and global warming are not limited to the physical. A recent Australian report reveals that extreme weather events pose dangerous risk to public mental health.

The report, "A Climate of Suffering: The Real Cost of Living with Inaction on Climate Change," published in the Climate Institute Web site on Aug. 26, aims to raise awareness on the effect of extreme weather events and climate change on people's mental health.

"By reviewing the evidence and expert opinion, it is hoped that governments, businesses and communities will be prompted to act early, to avoid further unnecessary suffering and cost," states the Climate Institute report.

Effects on Mental Health

Recent weather occurrences, such as the decade long drought in Australia, Cyclone Yasi, and the Eastern Australian floods, can only be described as catastrophic. Although people have remained resilient in the face of such natural calamities, their effect on people's well-being is a crucial issue.

Here are some of the findings on erratic weather changes and its effect on people's mental health and well-being, as chronicled in the Climate Institute report:

  • As many as one in five people in a community will suffer the debilitating effects of extreme stress, emotional injury and despair. A more hostile climate will spell a substantial rise in the incidence of post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression. With mental illness as the second largest contributor to diseases in Australia, drastic climate changes can make millions of people more vulnerable to incidences of mental disorders.
  • The emotional and psychological toll of disasters can last for months, even years. Higher rates of drug and alcohol misuse, violence, family dissolution, and suicide are more likely to follow more extreme weather events. Evidence is beginning to emerge that drought and heat waves lead to higher rates of self-harm and suicide, as much as 8 percent higher.
  • Children are vulnerable to pre-disaster anxiety and post-trauma illness. The failure of adults to act on climate change may result to long-lived insecurity and anxiety in young people. After cyclone Larry in 2006, data showed that one in 10 primary school children experiences symptoms of post-traumatic disorder.
  • Mental health problems usually occur due to employment and cost-of-living struggles. 2004 data on the recent drought show that around one in four rural workers had lost their job-about 100,000 agricultural workers, contractors and those employed in allied businesses. By 2007, prolonged dry conditions had eroded Australians' quality of life, to the cost of about $5.4 billion.

According to a Sydney Morning Herald report, the ensuing loss of work and people's perception of stability has resulted to a breakdown in social cohesion, which is necessary people to survive and communities to thrive.

Act on Climate Change Now

The extreme effects of climate change in people and nations call for extreme actions.

"Governments can choose to substantially minimise the suffering and the social and economic costs by acting early to cut pollution and switch our economy to clean energy and production," the Climate Institute suggested.

Urgent efforts to address climate change and global warming through government policies and civic programs is a concrete and relevant step in securing people's mental health and well-being.