Praneeta Prakash 
Climate change is not just about rising sea levels and extreme weather, it is also causing a serious mental health crisis in the Pacific Islands, including Fiji.
This is according to a report by the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change.
The report reveals that exposure to increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events, such as cyclones and floods, can lead to acute psychological distress, including stress, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The report also says that studies have shown that children who have experienced displacement due to extreme weather events are at increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder.
Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change co-author Roannie Ng Shiu says there is a need for more research to better understand the specific mental health risks associated with climate change.
“So there is sort of a call right now to get better evidence, but we do know that mental health is an area that is severely under-resourced in the Pacific and we do know that mental health illnesses sort of start early on before you’re 18 years old and we have large proportions of our population, which are young people.”
Ng Shiu adds that there is a need to recognize the mental health implications of climate change and take proactive measures to address them.
“So there is a dire need to kind of get more information to help inform better policies, but also interventions that are cost-effective.”
Calls are being made to address this crisis urgently.
