Climate change causes effects that go beyond the environmental impact and physical health. Around 42% of Brazilians feel or have already felt some climate-related impact on their mental health, according to the 4th Collection of the Mental Health Panorama.
The was published this Monday (3), in a partnership between Instituto Cactus and AtlasIntel. The survey interviewed 10,000 people over the age of 16 from all regions of Brazil.
According to the survey, among the most cited emotional effects in relation to , 58% say they feel nervous, anxious or restless, 51% feel afraid and 44% are too worried about the issue. Recurring thoughts also appear frequently, such as not being able to stop thinking about environmental losses (48%), future climate change and other global problems (42%) or past events (41%).
In everyday life, 34% say they have difficulty sleeping, 35% working or studying and 33% enjoying social moments with family and friends. Between 34% and 36% also report on their own responsibility or the impact of their actions in solving environmental problems.
However, some respondents say they do not feel fear (50%) or excessive concern (55%) regarding the climate crisis, which suggests that, although the topic is emerging, it does not cause ongoing emotional suffering for a portion of these people, in the researchers’ view.
Similarly, a significant proportion also declare that they do not feel anxious about their own responsibility or their individual impact on the planet (63% and 66%, respectively).
Furthermore, the survey also showed that climate change is directly felt in the daily lives of respondents: 74.3% say they have experienced the consequences of an extreme weather event, such as fires, floods, storms or heat waves.
The report also points out that 77.2% of respondents report frustration with the actions of public authorities or the population’s lack of awareness regarding climate change.
Women worry more about climate change
The survey also analyzed gender and age and revealed that 47.4% of women worry about climate change every day, compared to just 27.9% of men. At the opposite extreme, 18.2% of men never worry about the topic, compared to just 10.3% of women.
Direct experience with climate extremes is also more common among female respondents: 79.2% of women have experienced episodes of floods and heat waves, while this experience was experienced by 69% of men.
This difference is also reflected in , with 49.2% of women reporting psychological consequences, compared to 34.3% of men. Additionally, 47.2% of women report climate anxiety, compared to 26.2% of men.
