Anxiety caused by climate change leads to helplessness and anger among adolescents and young people
Jul 08, 2025
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Shim Min-young, head of the National Trauma Center at the National Center for Mental Health under the theme of "Climate Change and Mental Health" under the theme of "Climate Change and Mental Health" at the Seoul Square on the 8th, explained that "heat waves and wildfires caused by climate change become traumatic events, increasing the incidence of depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)." "Climate anxiety mainly occurs in adolescents and young generations, and leads to feelings of lethargy or loss of anger. "It goes beyond just emotional reactions and influences various decisions in life such as education, career, human relationships, and birth plans," he said. In addition, "Climate anxiety is not classified as a mental illness, but as it is already dealt with as a future mental health issue by the World Health Organization (WHO) and several research institutes, domestic surveys and generational-specific responses are needed."
In fact, the National Trauma Center analyzed the mental health condition during the 2019 Gangwon bushfire, and found that 65% of those who experienced forest fires suffered sleeplessness and 58% suffered anxiety symptoms. In addition, about a quarter of those who experienced forest fires had moderate or higher mental distress, and 13% received psychiatric treatment.
There have also been warnings that climate change could increase the intensity and frequency of forest disasters and increase disease vectors.
Kim Ho, a professor at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Public Health, said, `The annual carbon absorption of future forests will decrease and the intensity and frequency of forest disasters will increase.' `The risk of developing new pests and weeds may increase because the temperature changes the cultivation area of crops and the risk of pests in time and space.' From 1968 to 2023, the surface water temperature of our oceans rose by about 1.44 degrees, more than twice the global average, " he said, predicting that in the future, the emergence of major commercial fish species and fish will decrease, and among aquaculture species, seaweed farming will be the most affected." In this regard, "In addition to rising temperatures caused by climate change, various health risks such as weather disasters, air pollution, infectious diseases, and mental health problems will increase" "As health damage is expected to appear unevenly according to regional and social vulnerabilities, appropriate intervention and countermeasures should be taken for vulnerable populations and regions."," he stressed.
Meanwhile, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting a climate health impact assessment every five years to come up with policies to minimize the damage caused by climate change to public health.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
