6 Minute English / Does climate change make you anxious?

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I m Rob.

And I m Sam. When we talk about climate change, we usually talk about the effects on the planet, or the economic consequences. But all the damage being done by climate change is also having an effect on our minds, our mental health.

Fires, heatwaves, floods, hurricanes, droughts the list of climate emergencies goes on and on, and sometimes it all feels like doom and gloom an idiom describing a situation that is very bad and without hope. This worry is leading to mental health problems, not just for the unfortunate people who experience climate events first-hand, but for us all.

In this programme, we ll meet one expert who s investigating the link between climate change and mental health problems and hoping to find some solutions. And, as usual, we ll be learning some new vocabulary along the way.

But before that I have a question for you, Sam. The 2021 UK census reported that three quarters of adults in Britain are worried about the impact of climate change, and it s a worry that s shared by the young. According to a survey by Greenpeace, what percentage of young people worldwide say they feel worried about climate change? Is it:

a) 74 per cent?b) 84 per cent? orc) 94 per cent?

I think the figure will be high among young people, so I ll say b) 84 per cent.

OK, Sam, we ll find out if that s the correct answer later in the programme. The expert I mentioned earlier who s investigating this problem is Dr Gesche Huebner, senior researcher at University College London. Here Dr Huebner explains to BBC World Service programme, The Climate Question, what she s been finding out.

Dr Gesche HuebnerI think we have very clear evidence that, for example, hot temperatures - heat waves - are leading to an increased risk of suicide and also other adverse mental health effects. We also have pretty good evidence that, for example, experiencing a natural disaster - storms, flooding - are linked to negative mental health outcomes such as post-traumatic stress disorder or other anxiety issues.