Climate change, extreme events and mental health in the Pacific region

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCCSM-03-2022-0032
• Published date: 06 December 2022
• Date: 06 December 2022
• Pages: 20-40
• Subject Matter: Public policy & environmental management,Environmental issues,Climate change
• Author: Walter Leal Filho,Murukesan Krishnapillai,Aprajita Minhas,Sannia Ali,Gabriela Nagle Alverio,Medhat Sayed Hendy Ahmed,Roselyn Naidu,Ravinesh R. Prasad,Navjot Bhullar,Ayyoob Sharifi,Gustavo J. Nagy,Marina Kovaleva

Climate change, extreme events

and mental health in

the Pacific region

Walter Leal Filho,Murukesan Krishnapillai,Aprajita Minhas,

Sannia Ali,Gabriela Nagle Alverio,Medhat Sayed Hendy Ahmed,

Roselyn Naidu,Ravinesh R. Prasad,Navjot Bhullar,Ayyoob Sharifi,

Gustavo J. Nagy and Marina Kovaleva

(Author affiliations can be found at the end of the article)

Abstract

Purpose –This paper aims to address a gapin investigatingspecific impacts of climate change on mental

health in the Pacificregion, a region prone to extreme events. This paper reportson a study on the connections

between climate change, public health,extreme weather and climate events (EWEs), livelihoods and mental

health,focusing on the Pacific region Islands countries.

Design/methodology/approach –This paper deploys two main methods. The first is a bibliometric

analysis to understand the state of the literature. For example, the input data for term co-occurrence

analysis using VOSviewer is bibliometric data of publications downloaded from Scopus. The second

method describes case studies, which outline some of the EWEs the region has faced, which have also

impacted mental health.

Findings –The results suggest that the increased frequency of EWEs in the region contributes to a

greater incidence of me ntal health problems. These, in turn, are as sociated with a relatively low level of

resilience and greater vulnerability. The findings illustra te the need for improvements in th e public health

systems of Pacific nations so that the y are in a better position t o cope with the pressur es posed by a

changing environment.

Originality/value –This paper contributes to the current literature by identifying the links between

climate change, extreme events, environmental health and mental health consequences in the Pacific

Region. It calls for greater awareness of the subject matter of mental health among public health

professionals so tha t they may be better able to recognise the sy mptoms and relate them to their climate -

related causes and co- determinant factors.

Keywords Extreme events, Climate change, Environmental health, Mental health, Livelihoods,

Pacific region

Paper type Research paper

© Walter Leal Filho, Murukesan Krishnapillai, Aprajita Minhas, Sannia Ali, Gabriela Nagle Alverio,

Medhat Sayed Hendy Ahmed, Roselyn Naidu, Ravinesh R. Prasad, Navjot Bhullar, Ayyoob Sharifi,

Gustavo J. Nagy and Marina Kovaleva. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is

published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce,

distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-

commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full

terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

The support from the College of Micronesia land grant program is gratefully acknowledged.

This paper has also been funded by the International Climate Change Information and Research

Programme (ICCIRP) and is part of the “100 papers to accelerate climate change mitigation and

adaptation”initiative.

IJCCSM

15,1

20

Received17 March 2022

Revised30 June 2022

15August 2022

8 September2022

12October 2022

Accepted12 October 2022

InternationalJournal of Climate

ChangeStrategies and

Management

Vol.15 No. 1, 2023

pp. 20-40

EmeraldPublishing Limited

1756-8692

DOI 10.1108/IJCCSM-03-2022-0032

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/1756-8692.htm

1. Introduction

1.1 Introducing climate change, extreme weather events and health

The influence of humans on the climate system is evident.The recent global anthropogenic

greenhouse gas emissions due to population growth and massive industrial processes are

the highest in history; therefore, they are the leading cause of climate change and global

warming (IPCC, 2014). While the evidence explicitly links anthropogenic climate change

with extreme weather and climate events (EWEs) frequency and intensity, indicators

suggest human-mediated global warming has likely increased compound EWEs since the

1950s (IPCC, 2012,2018,2019,2021;Mycooet al.,2022).

Besides its substantial environmental and economic risks, climate change is one of the

world’s leading health risks(Berry et al., 2018). It is a primary culprit for the increased rates

of many communicable and non-communicable diseases, including zoonoses (Leal Filho

et al.,2022).Of particular concern are the impacts of climate change on mental healthand the

stress related to it (Searle and Gow, 2010). There is a strong associationbetween EWEs and

mental illness (Berry et al.,2018). These impacts may range from significant short-term to

long-term impacts.The short-term impacts on mental health occur during or in the fewdays

following a EWE and are likely to subside withtime. Heatwaves, for instance, were found to

negatively impact mental well-beingequivalent to unemployment (Ding et al., 2015). Severe

environmental events such as floods resultin injuries, loss of properties and businesses and

loss of loved ones, aggravating or leading to mental illnesses, such as anxiety, depression,

distress and trauma (Berry et al., 2018). Low-income and developing countries are naturally

more prone to such effects due to their lack of preparednessand limited adaptation capacity

(Alderman et al.,2012). Overall, the most prevalent psychological illness in people affected

by EWEs is post-traumatic distress syndrome(PTSD), followed by depression and anxiety

(Liu et al.,2006). The magnitude of stress experienced by the victims depends on the extent

of the damage, losses and inconveniencecaused by the event (Tapsell et al.,2002).

Although there is no solid evidence about how long psychological impacts could last after a

flood event, some studies suggest that psychological distress caused by floods affects the quality

of life in the long term, too (Berry et al.,2018). For example, the levels of psychological distress in

the community affected by the floods in 2000 in Lewes, Southern England, had doubled, and

those psychological problems were still recognisable four years after the flood (Reacher et al.,

2004). Figure 1 presents an overview of some of the impacts of climate change on mental health.

In addition, there is growingevidence linking climate change and extreme environmental

events to human migration that together with its accompanying stressors become a

significant causeof increased mental illness rates (Bhugra, 2004;Black et al.,2013).

1.2 Impacts of climate change and extreme events in the Pacific Island countries

1.2.1 Health impacts of climate change and extreme events as a whole. Current projections

indicate that climate change and environmental disasters will become among the leading causes

of migration in the 21st century (IPCC, 2014). One of the world’s most affected regions by climate

change and EWEs is the Pacific Islands Countries (PICs), which comprise hundreds of scattered

islands that are small in size and poor in natural resources. PICs have weak economies, poor

infrastructure and a combined population of about 6.6 million. Most of the pop ulation work in

agriculture (WHO, 2013), and 50% live within 1.5 km of the ocean (Tiatia-Seath et al.,2018).

Five PICs are ranked among the top 20 countries in the World Risk Index for countriesat-

risk of extreme natural eventsin 2019, having Vanuatu and Tonga islands as first and third

on the list, respectively (The World Bank, 2020). Intense cyclones, floods, sea-level rise

(SLR), freshwater shortage and changes in seasonal weather are expected consequences of

climate change in the Pacific region. Due to the concentration of most people in the coastal

Mental health

in the Pacific

region

21