scholarly journals Extreme Weather Events and Mental Health: Tackling the Psychosocial Challenge

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyotsana Shukla
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
The Public ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
The Social ◽  
Public Health Challenge

Climate change is an emerging challenge to the mental health of entire humanity. Several studies, in recent times, have brought to light the adverse public mental health outcomes of extreme weather events for the suffering communities. The general public and the policy making bodies need to gain awareness about these impacts. Through such awareness, communities and their governments can institutionalize mechanisms to provide psychological support to the populations affected by climate change, before it becomes a massive public health challenge and starts affecting the social and vocational lives of people. There is an urgent need for addressing these impacts. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the deleterious effects of climate change related extreme weather events on mental health, the worldwide response of several communities to such events, and preparedness of the public and government to deal with these adverse mental health impacts. Policy imperatives to prevent and mitigate these impacts have been suggested. It is hoped that the psychologists, governments, and communities will act earnestly to prevent the impending harm to human mental health due to climate change.

scholarly journals Weather Literacy in Times of Climate Change

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Fleischhut ◽  
Stefan M. Herzog ◽  
Ralph Hertwig
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
The Public ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
The Future ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Weather Risks

AbstractAs climate change unfolds, extreme weather events are on the rise worldwide. According to experts, extreme weather risks already outrank those of terrorism and migration in likelihood and impact. But how well does the public understand weather risks and forecast uncertainty and thus grasp the amplified weather risks that climate change poses for the future? In a nationally representative survey (N = 1004; Germany), we tested the public’s weather literacy and awareness of climate change using 62 factual questions. Many respondents misjudged important weather risks (e.g., they were unaware that UV radiation can be higher under patchy cloud cover than on a cloudless day) and struggled to connect weather conditions to their impacts (e.g., they overestimated the distance to a thunderstorm). Most misinterpreted a probabilistic forecast deterministically, yet they strongly underestimated the uncertainty of deterministic forecasts. Respondents with higher weather literacy obtained weather information more often and spent more time outside but were not more educated. Those better informed about climate change were only slightly more weather literate. Overall, the public does not seem well equipped to anticipate weather risks in the here and now and may thus also fail to fully grasp what climate change implies for the future. These deficits in weather literacy highlight the need for impact forecasts that translate what the weather may be into what the weather may do and for transparent communication of uncertainty to the public. Boosting weather literacy may help to improve the public’s understanding of weather and climate change risks, thereby fostering informed decisions and mitigation support.

Lay Detection of Unusual Patterns in the Frequency of Hurricanes

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 597-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Dryden ◽  
M. Granger Morgan ◽  
Stephen Broomell
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Signal Detection Theory ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
The Public ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Hurricane Season ◽  
Future Work

AbstractAn increase in the severity of extreme weather is arguably one of the most important consequences of climate change with immediate and potentially devastating impacts. Recent events, like Hurricane Harvey, stimulated public discourse surrounding the role of climate change in amplifying, or otherwise modifying, the patterns of such events. Within the scientific community, recent years have witnessed considerable progress on “climate attribution”—the use of statistical techniques to assess the probability that climate change is influencing the character of some extreme weather events. Using a novel application of signal detection theory, this article assesses when, and to what extent, laypeople attribute changes in hurricanes to climate change and whether and how certain characteristics predict this decision. The results show that people attribute hurricanes to climate change based on their preexisting climate beliefs and numeracy. Respondents who were more dubious about the existence of climate change (and more numerate) required a greater degree of evidence (i.e., a more extreme world) before they were willing to suggest that an unusual hurricane season might be influenced by climate change. However, those who have doubts were still willing to make these attributions when hurricane behavior becomes sufficiently extreme. In general, members of the public who hold different prior views about climate change are not in complete disagreement about the evidence they perceive, which leaves the possibility for future work to explore ways to bring such judgments back into alignment.

scholarly journals Impact of Extreme Weather Events on Sub-Saharan African Child and Adolescent Mental Health: A Protocol for a Systematic Review

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna-Andrea Rother ◽  
Ruth A. Etzel ◽  
Mary Shelton ◽  
Jerome A. Paulson ◽  
R. Anna Hayward ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Child And Adolescent ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Adaptation Strategies ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Sub Saharan

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as being the most vulnerable region to climate change impacts. A major concern is the increase in extreme weather events (EWE) such as storms, floods, droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, and landslides in SSA and their potential to affect the health and well-being of children and adolescents. The objective of this systematic review is to examine the direct and indirect impacts of EWE on the mental health of children and adolescents living in SSA, in order to inform protective adaptation strategies and promote resilience. A meta-analysis will not be possible, since the assumption is that limited studies have been published on the EWE-associated mental health impacts on children and adolescents living in SSA and that those studies that are available are heterogenous. There is acknowledgement in the global literature of the need to highlight child and adolescent mental health more prominently in climate change health strategies and policies. It is vital that adaptation strategies are informed by research on risk prevention and promotion of resilience to ensure the mental health of children and adolescents is protected.

scholarly journals Policy options for addressing climate change, with a focus on ecosystem based adaptation: a case study of Guyana

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Lilwah
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Resource Sector ◽  
Adaptation Method ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Close to ninety percent of Guyana‟s population live along a low lying coastal plain, which is below sea level and very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. While the national government has not yet developed a comprehensive climate policy, the potential impacts of climate change is considered in several sectoral policies, much of which emphasize mitigation, with little focus on adaptation. This research examined the current priorities for adaptation by a review of the policies within the natural resource sector to identify opportunities for adaptation, especially ecosystem based adaptation. A Diagnostic Adaptation Framework (DAF) was used to help identify approaches to address a given adaptation challenge with regards to needs, measures and options. A survey questionnaire was used to support the policy reviews and identified four key vulnerabilities: coastal floods; sea level rise; drought and extreme weather events. The application of the DAF in selecting an adaptation method suggests the need for more data on drought and extreme weather events. Coastal flooding is addressed, with recognized need for more data and public awareness for ecosystem based adaptation

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