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Comparative Study

| Published: September 25, 2016

Effect of Climate Change on Mental Health

Dr. Ratan P. Solanki

Shree Mahila Arts & Home Science College, Kodinar, Gujarat, India Google Scholar More about the auther

DIP: 18.01.054/20160304

DOI: 10.25215/0304.054

ABSTRACT

On 5th of June the entire world celebrated the World Environment Day (WED) WED is being celebrated every year since 1973.To involve people all over the world, a slogan has also been coined for this year’s WED. The slogan is: ‘Raise Your Voice Not the Sea Level.’ The idea is that there is need to raise voice against the ongoing climate change so that brake is applied to the raising global temperature. 23We all know that 2014 has been declared as the hottest year globally by the Meteorological department of United States of America. Climate change is a global challenge which is likely to affect the mankind in substantial ways. Not only climate change is expected to affect physical health, it is also likely to affect mental health. Increasing ambient temperatures is likely to increase rates of aggression and violent suicides, while prolonged droughts due to climate change can lead to more number of farmer suicides. Droughts otherwise can lead to impaired mental health and stress. Increased frequency of disasters with climate change can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorder, and depression. Changes in climate and global warming may require population to migrate, which can lead to acculturation stress. It can also lead to increased rates of physical illnesses, which secondarily would be associated with psychological distress. The possible effects of mitigation measures on mental health are also discussed. The paper concludes with a discussion of what can and should be done to tackle the expected mental health issues consequent to climate change.  
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Dr. Ratan P. Solanki @ ratansolanki44@yahoo.com

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ISSN 2348-5396

ISSN 2349-3429

DIP: 18.01.054/20160304

DOI: 10.25215/0304.054

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Published in   Volume 03, Issue 4, July-September, 2016