Prof Albrecht has established a clear link between global warming and its psychological impact on humans, with people becoming increasingly anxious about the environment as it changes over time.

As the world heats up, a Murdoch University professor warns mental issues will also be on the rise / Image: Istockphoto

While Australia reels from a series of climate related disasters ranging from floods in Queensland, drought in the interior and bushfires in Victoria, Prof Albrecht says it’s not surprising this has added to the mental stress of the population.

With mental health currently the fourth highest global disease in terms of health burdens, Prof Albrecht predicts it will become the second most significant issue for health systems by 2020, and believes climate change will add significantly to the problem.

Environmental stress is not a new concept. The Inuit people of the Arctic Circle call climate related distress “uggianaqtuq”, indicating that climate and weather is now “something that was once like a friend but is now acting strangely”.

Prof Albrecht calls this concept “solastalgia”, distress in people related to strongly-felt changes to their home environment.  He says it is “…similar to the nostalgia or depression soldiers experience when fighting on foreign shores” and “a form of homesickness one gets when still at home.”

Prof Albrecht and his colleagues interviewed Australians, primarily rural residents living near open-pit coal mines and power stations, documenting their gradual loss of solace and sense of place under the impacts of pollution and landscape change.

For example, in order to remain in Perth’s current climate, people would have to move 150km south every 50 years.

By the end of this century, under the impact of up to 5C of temperature increase, cities in Australia such as Adelaide, Perth and Darwin will experience many more days over 35C.

“Global warming translates into more heat waves, increased fire frequency and more prolonged drought. The cumulative effect of all these changes increases stress in people and erodes their sense of wellbeing,” says Prof Albrecht.

“More people will die of heat stress and there will also be an increase in psychological disturbances leading to an increase in aggression and social violence.”

Before the mental stress of climate change becomes a serious issue, Prof Albrecht urges a greater effort at deploying the safety net of urgent greenhouse gas mitigation.

“A five per cent reduction in carbon emissions will not alter the current situation. It only guarantees that we will have to keep on adapting to even more severe and prolonged change into the future."

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