THE heavy burden of disease associated with climate change is overwhelming economies and smothering societies in developing countries. Immediate flood devastation and the long-term impact of droughts and water shortage trigger economic instability, compound poverty and threaten human health. Besides causing injury and disease, floods, droughts, and hurricanes also lead to mental health issues. The findings of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report confirmed that such extreme weather events “directly worsen mental health and well-being and increase anxiety”.

Every extreme weather event and each decimal of a degree rise in global temperatures increase the risk of further spread of disease and reversal of global health gains of previous decades. Poor communities bear the brunt, facing an increase in deaths and ailments from heatwaves and alarming levels of polluted air and water as well as the spread of vector-borne diseases like dengue. Seven million people die prematurely each year due to air pollution alone.

According to the WHO, climate change is expected to cause around 250,000 additional deaths per year between 2030 and 2050, from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress alone. Matters will worsen if stronger, sustained climate action is not taken urgently. Recent research shows that a direct consequence of the exposure to frequent weather events and prolonged climate hazards is the surge in mental health issues — and not just among vulnerable communities. Anxiety and depression are the most common mental disorders linked to the direct impact of climate hazards like floods and the indirect impact of displacement and loss of livelihood.

While all segments of society are affected, the youth in particular face disillusionment and anxiety as they confront the grim prospects of living longer amidst the climate crisis. About 90 per cent of the world’s 1.8 billion youth live in climate-vulnerable developing countries. In 2021, a study by Bath University found that 60pc of the 10,000 youth surveyed in 10 countries were “very worried or extremely worried” as “chronic stress over climate change was also increasing the risk of mental and physical problems”. If a similar study were conducted now, the percentage would likely be higher as climate stress has multiplied since then.

Climate change brings with it trauma and depression.

Pakistan’s predicament as a climate-vulnerable nation with a huge youth bulge is serious. Frequent floods and intense heatwaves have embroiled the county in a polycrisis defined by the deadly nexus between climate change, health, poverty and increasing inequality. Mental health adds another challenging dimension.

Millions of people affected by the floods of 2010 and 2022 suffered economically, and are thus going through trauma and depression. The emotional pain of people who lost relatives or were forced to relocate to places without social protection was severe. Children and young people suffer longer as their education is disrupted, and they lose access to basic needs like clean drinking water. About 10 million children remained without access to clean drinking water and other essential social services for over six months after the 2022 floods, according to Unicef. While their injuries were treated and economic losses recorded and addressed to the extent possible, little heed was paid to healing their psychological problems during that time. A major reason for this neglect is attributed to the inadequate public sector mental health infrastructure. With few psychiatrists and even fewer facilities, mental health remains the weakest link in the public health discourse in several developing coun­tries inclu­ding Pakistan.

At the same time, the level of awareness about the link between climate change and mental health is also very low. Evidence and data on climate change affecting health is well documented and comes in handy in devising climate strategies that consider the cost of physical injuries. Unfortunately, the cost of trauma and psychological disorders linked with environmental disasters are neither properly tabulated nor factored into climate policies.

To correct this, governments must prioritise mental health by providing funds to set up specialised mental healthcare facilities in the country. Inadequate healthcare in the rural and peri-urban parts make people more susceptible to diseases associated with climate change. Discussing mental illnesses is still taboo. To de-stigmatise mental health, educational institutions, local bodies and media should raise awareness about the issue and its implications. Highlighting its links to climate disasters, to which people can quickly relate to, is helpful. Minding mental health, like combating climate change, cannot wait till tomorrow. It warrants urgent action today.

The writer is director of intergovernmental affairs, United Nations Environment Programme.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2026