{"id":106210,"date":"2026-06-01T17:51:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T12:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=106210"},"modified":"2026-06-01T18:08:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T12:38:23","slug":"climate-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/climate-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Anxiety, Meaning, Causes, Impacts, Vulnerable Groups"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Climate change is no longer only an environmental issue. Increasing heatwaves, floods, droughts, cyclones and wildfires are also affecting people\u2019s mental health. As a result, Climate Anxiety, also known as Eco-Anxiety, is emerging as a major public health concern across the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Climate Anxiety Meaning\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Climate Anxiety<\/b> <b>or Eco Anxiety<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> refers to the fear, worry and stress caused by <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/climate-change\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>climate change<\/strong><\/a> and environmental degradation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It arises when people become concerned about issues such as rising temperatures, extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, pollution and the future of the planet.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b><i>American Psychological Association (APA) defined the term \u201ceco-anxiety\u201d in 2017<\/i><\/b> <b>as \u201ca chronic fear of environmental doom,\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> noting that climate change impacts on quality of life may lead to loss of personal and professional identity, loss of social support structures, loss of a sense of control and autonomy, and other mental health impacts such as feelings of helplessness, fear, and fatalism<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although climate anxiety is not officially recognised as a mental disorder, mental health experts consider it a genuine psychological response to environmental threats.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why is Climate Anxiety Increasing?<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Extreme Weather Events<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Frequent floods, heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and cyclones create fear, uncertainty and psychological stress.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Environmental Degradation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Deforestation, pollution, habitat destruction and species extinction make people anxious about the future of nature and human well-being.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Fear of the Future<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Concerns about <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/food-security-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>food security<\/strong><\/a>, water scarcity, sea-level rise and climate-induced displacement increase feelings of insecurity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Media Exposure and Doomscrolling<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Continuous exposure to alarming climate news and social media content can increase fear and hopelessness.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Slow Climate Action<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Many people, especially youth, feel frustrated by the slow pace of climate action by governments and businesses.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Intergenerational Concerns<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Young people worry that they will inherit a more dangerous and unstable world because of present-day environmental degradation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Climate Anxiety Vulnerable Groups<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Children and young people are among the most affected by climate-related anxiety<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. According to a 2021 UNICEF report, <\/span><b>around one billion children are at extremely high risk from the impacts of climate change<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, making them highly vulnerable to both physical and psychological stress.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A global survey in 2021 found that <\/span><b>nearly 75% of people aged 16\u201325 felt the future of the planet was \u201cfrightening\u201d due to climate change<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while almost half reported that these negative emotions affected their daily life and functioning.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Studies show that <\/span><b>women are more likely than men to experience climate anxiety<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while <\/span><b>Indigenous groups and other marginalized communities often face greater emotional and psychological stress<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> due to their closer dependence on natural ecosystems and higher exposure to climate impacts.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Climate Anxiety in India<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is vulnerable to climate-related psychological distress due to its dependence on climate-sensitive sectors, frequent exposure to extreme weather events, and limited mental health infrastructure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><b>drought-prone states<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, repeated droughts have intensified farmer distress and suicides.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Rapid urban expansion in peri-urban areas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> such as Gurugram and Bengaluru, combined with weak infrastructure, further adds to environmental stress.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>impact is more severe among lower-income and rural populations<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> due to financial insecurity, while <\/span><b>children, women, and the elderly <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">remain especially vulnerable due to disrupted education, caregiving burdens, and health-related challenges.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Climate Anxiety is the growing fear and stress caused by climate change. Know its causes, impacts, vulnerable groups, and challenges in India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":105929,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[7892],"class_list":{"0":"post-106210","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-studies","8":"tag-climate-anxiety","9":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106210"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106236,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106210\/revisions\/106236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}