Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change devastation yet one of the least responsible for it.
On Monday, scientists announced the alarming results of a study that looked at how climate change impacts the mental health of people who live in Bangladesh – a country considered one of the most vulnerable to devastation from the crisis, yet one of the least responsible for it.
First, the team measured climate variables at 43 weather stations in Bangladesh to track parameters such as seasonal temperature, humidity and flooding occurrences over two months. Then they surveyed 7,000 citizens in both urban and rural areas first in August and September 2019, and then again in January and February 2020, to assess how subjects’ anxiety and depression changed amid weather fluctuations tied to global warming.
The results revealed that people who experienced higher temperatures (by 1 degree Celsius) during the two months preceding the study had a 21% higher probability of having an anxiety disorder and a 24% higher probability of having depression.
The team’s paper, published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, also suggested that an increase in humidity (specifically, a 1 gram of moisture increase per cubic meter of air) created a 6% higher probability of having both anxiety and depression, too.
Related Posts
And in terms of natural disasters, the study found climate change-induced flooding led to an increased probability of depression by 31%, anxiety by 69% and both together by a staggering 87%.
“We have now established a high-water mark that alas could soon be eclipsed for how climate can impact mental health in a highly vulnerable country. This should serve as a warning for other nations,” Syed Shabab Wahid, an assistant professor in the department of global health at Georgetown University’s School of Health and lead author of the study, said in a statement.
This study adds to a growing body of research surrounding climate change’s impacts on mental health, highlighting once again how this crisis seems to be touching all aspects of our lives. In June of last year, the World Health Organization presented a policy brief urging all countries to incorporate some sort of mental health support in their crisis relief plans.
“As climate change worsens, temperatures and humidity will continue to increase, as will natural disasters, such as extreme flooding, which portends worsening impact on our collective mental health, globally,” Wahid said.
But what’s especially concerning for Bangladesh is that things like temperature increases, humidity increases and excessive flooding are all bound to seriously ramp up there as climate change, driven in large part by the burning of fossil fuels, gets harsher. Already, many coastal areas undergo cyclones twice annually due to the rate at which our planet is heating up – disasters that destroy homes and result in shocking amounts of death.
