Anxiety about the potential risks of climate change and awareness of climate change itself can affect mental health even in the absence of direct impacts . There is a need for more evidence about the prevalence or severity of climate change-related anxiety, sometimes called ecoanxiety, but national surveys in the USA, Europe and Australia show that people express high levels of concern and perceived harm associated with climate change . In a US sample, perceived ecological stress, defined as personal stress associated with environmental problems, predicted depressive symptoms ; in a sample of Filipinos, climate anxiety was correlated with lower mental health  and a non-random study in 25 countries showed positive correlations between negative emotions about climate change and self-rated mental health . However, an earlier study found no correlation between climate change worry and mental health issues . Because the perceived threat of climate change is based on subjective perceptions of risk and coping ability as well as on experiences and knowledge , even people who have not been directly affected may be stressed by a perception of looming danger . Not surprisingly, those who have directly experienced some of the effects of climate change may be more likely to show such responses. Indigenous Peoples, whose culture and well-being tend to be strongly linked to local environments, may experience mental health effects associated with changes in environmental risks; studies suggest connections to an
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report