UK health agency links climate change to rising mental health numbers
British health officials study how extreme weather affects peoples minds while millions stay off work due to mental issues. New research aims to find ways to help those affected by climate-related stress
The UK Health Security Agency is looking into how climate-change affects mental well-being‚ as more britʼs struggle with psychological issues. Extreme weather events like floods and heat-waves dont just harm physical health - they create long-lasting mental stress (according to the agencyʼs initial findings)
The research comes at a time when mental health services face huge pressure: the NHS helped about 3.8M patients last year which is way more than before covid. The UKHSA - which took over from Public Health England few years back - wants to know how to support people dealing with climate-related anxiety
The economic impact is clear: around 9.3M working-age people arent in jobs or looking for work; with roughly 2.75M saying theyʼre off due to long-term illness. More than half of these long-term sick people mention depression or anxiety as their main issue. This affects both the economy and peoples life-chances - its a double-hit situation
- Direct impacts from extreme weather events
- Growing awareness of climate threats
- Need for better mental health support
- Economic effects of widespread illness
The agency focuses on building what they call “psycho-social resilience“; helping people cope with changing climate conditions. Theyʼre asking for new ideas and evidence to understand which groups need most help‚ and how to make support systems work better
