logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2021
13m 15s

Is climate change hurting our mental hea...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Has global warming made us more depressed? There’s no doubt climate change is totally changing the world we live in, but some of these changes are more unexpected than others. Take mental health: scientists say problems like depression and anxiety are spreading faster due to the impact of climate change. How come? And what can be done about it?

Host: Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Twitter) Guests: Rose Oduor; Dr Obed Ogega, climate scientist.

#AfricaDaily

Up next
Oct 2025
Tanzanian elections: What issues are young people concerned about?
As Tanzania gears up for elections on 29 October, we hear from two young people about the issues that matter to them and whether youth concerns have been featured in the electoral campaigns.How a young Senegalese footballer's dream of joining a professional club ended in tragedy ... Show More
33m 44s
Oct 2025
Focus on Africa: Hundreds of stolen social media identities used to spread propaganda
A BBC investigation uncovers dozens of social accounts using stolen identities of Somali and Muslim influencers and posting political propaganda content. We hear more about what was uncovered and who might be behind this widespread operation.Chad’s parliament has overwhelmingly a ... Show More
32m 11s
Oct 2025
Focus on Africa Can DRC be declared ebola free?
The last ebola patient in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been released from a treatment centre in Kasai province. Can the country now be declared free of this latest outbreak?What is behind the escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea over control of the Red Sea ... Show More
29m 59s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2022
How is climate change affecting our mental health?
<p>We often talk about the physical costs of climate change; the economic fallout, the effect on livelihoods and damage to the earth. But all of the changes to our world caused by global warming will have an effect on our minds, our mental health too. Earlier this year the menta ... Show More
27m 22s
Oct 2022
Does climate change make you anxious?
We discuss how extreme weather events are affecting our mental health. 
6m 20s
Aug 2019
How climate change affects your mental health | Britt Wray
"For all that's ever been said about climate change, we haven't heard nearly enough about the psychological impacts of living in a warming world," says science writer Britt Wray. In this quick talk, she explores how climate change is threatening our well-being -- mental, social a ... Show More
7m 34s
Jun 2025
Can climate change affect our mental health?
How can you protect your mental health from the impacts of climate change?Find a full transcript, worksheet and interactive quiz for this episode at:https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2025/ep-250612SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: ✔️ https://www.b ... Show More
6m 49s
Aug 2022
Climate Anxiety is Real
Climate change has long been an existential threat, but for many young people, government inaction and increasing natural disasters are now taking a mental toll. Psychologists describe this phenomenon as climate anxiety, or ecological grief. On this episode, Dr. Sanjay Gupta talk ... Show More
29m 20s
Feb 2023
Can heat affect mental health?
Can changes in the weather have an impact on our mental health? We go to Bangladesh in South Asia, a country on the front line of the impacts of climate change, where researchers have been exploring connections between incremental changes in heat and humidity, along with bigger i ... Show More
26m 28s
Apr 2021
How to cope with climate anxiety, with Thomas Doherty, PsyD, and Ashlee Cunsolo, PhD
Over the past several years, climate change has moved from an abstract idea to a reality in many Americans’ lives – a reality that we are increasingly worried about. An APA survey found that two-thirds of American adults said that they felt at least a little “eco-anxiety,” define ... Show More
36 m
Jul 2021
Losing Alaska
<p>As floods, wildfires, and heatwaves hit many parts of the world, signs of climate change seem to be all around us. Scientists have been warning us for years about the looming threat of a warming planet. And yet it’s really hard for many of us to wrap our minds around this exis ... Show More
24m 23s
Mar 2020
How to turn climate anxiety into action | Renée Lertzman
It's normal to feel anxious or overwhelmed by climate change, says psychologist Renée Lertzman. Can we turn those feelings into something productive? In an affirming talk, Lertzman discusses the emotional effects of climate change and offers insights on how psychology can help us ... Show More
13m 52s