The Wildfires May Be Contained but their Impact on Youth Mental Health Is Raging

Like clockwork, an explosion of wildfires plagues California, with more than 1 million acres of wildland scorched in 2024 so far — already three times more than in all of 2023. Loss of life, property, and productivity are direct costs to those in the immediate path of the destructive blaze and its effect on air quality. Meanwhile, major cities and small towns in the Southeast are reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

For others, another trauma is brewing in the form of a psychosocial burden rooted in their perception of the planet’s grim future. Uncertainty is destabilizing to the psyche, particularly to youth with incessant awareness — often via social media — of the regional and global devastation of the climate crisis. Layered with the mental health crisis, young people today face substantial blockades to prosperity. The summertime wildfires may now be contained and the hurricane is over, but the consequences will persist.

The Scale of the Problem

A small but growing number of scientific studies are beginning to expose the scale of the psychosocial impact of the climate crisis. An international study of 10,000 young people from 10 countries found that 59% of respondents were very worried about climate change, while 45% expressed that their feelings about climate change negatively affected their daily life and functioning. The majority of teens in an American study expressed feelings of stress, anxiety, and dissatisfaction regarding their lives in the face of climate change.

Meanwhile, the frequency of adolescents experiencing mental health crises has skyrocketed, with pediatric groups sounding the alarm on a national emergency. The number of adolescents presenting to an emergency department for mental health treatment, including suicidal behavior and intentional drug overdoses, has continued to rise following the COVID-19 pandemic.

How exactly do these generation-defining, seemingly unsolvable issues intersect?

The Exclusion of Youth Participation

Youth exclusion is a core and common issue that stifles progress on the climate and mental health crises. Time and again, global climate summits — rife with conflicts of interest — avoid both the scientific community’s urgent call to phase out fossil fuels and the demands of young people’s movements. It is telling that Greta Thunberg, a leader of this movement, has been repeatedly mocked by world leaders. Young people have endless reasons for concern: the last 10 years have seen the warmest global temperatures on record. Young people will inherit the world of tomorrow and yet are suffering a betrayal by generations before them to protect nature, contributing to a sense of powerlessness. Their voices are often ignored.

A Strategic Approach to Climate Anxiety

Investigations surrounding the fairly recently coined term “climate anxiety” — anxiety associated with perceptions of climate change — have led to scientific discovery on cognitive and functional impairment that individuals experience with an uncertain future. The problem? Nearly all studies of climate anxiety are based on adults. Yet, every child and every infant born today will be affected by climate change, now defined as a social determinant of health.

There is no easy solution to the dual crises that plague our climate and youth mental health. The following four collective actions aim to address the crossroads of mental health and climate change:

Expand research on young people’s perspectives and experiences of climate anxiety.

Research should have a clinical focus, clarifying the mental health impact of climate change on youth. It should integrate both quantitative data and qualitative data (such as interviews). Similarly, it should be collaborative, bringing together diverse professionals in medicine, psychology, environmental science, and public health.

Foster collaborative working groups to implement psychosocial interventions.

Climate change and mental health are “glocal” problems — that is, problems that are experienced throughout the world and uniquely shaped by local geopolitical contexts. Existing academic networks must leverage the findings of youth-centered research in clinical practice. An example is integrating questions on climate change into routine mental health screening in general pediatric clinics.

Utilize an environmental justice and equity framework to plan action.

Collective action on climate change has been shown to balance the negative effects of climate anxiety. The physical, emotional, and economic impacts of weather-related extreme events like wildfires, droughts, poor air quality, and floods disproportionately affect racially marginalized and poorer populations. Action committees must integrate the voices of these communities when planning and implementing interventions.

Protect and include youth participation in political action.

The bottom line is that we desperately need youth political representation in decisions that directly shape their future. Peaceful youth activists need to be protected, not prosecuted. Political candidates must rally and energize young voters around agendas that protect their futures while boosting young voter registration.

The mental health and climate crises of today have a profound impact on young people, but have thus far been treated as parallel and overlooked epidemics. There is a wave of unmet need that can be addressed by strategic inclusion of young people’s voices, academically and politically. To do so is to recognize not only youth’s dignity, but also our inextricable connection with the planet’s health.

Rammy Assaf, MD, MPH, MA, is a pediatric emergency medicine physician at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a health sciences assistant clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UC Irvine School of Medicine, and a physician with the Emergency Medicine Specialists of Orange County (EMSOC).

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