As the world barrels through the hottest years in recorded history, the effects of climate change are no longer confined to melting glaciers or distant, uninhabited islands. From the parched valleys of Afghanistan to the storm-battered streets of Hong Kong, climate change is exacting a heavy toll—not just on infrastructure and economies, but on the very fabric of human well-being.
On November 16, 2025, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released a sobering report detailing Afghanistan’s struggle against the mounting consequences of a warming planet. According to the agency, Afghanistan’s average temperature has risen by about 1.8 degrees Celsius since 1950, a seemingly small number that has unleashed a cascade of deadly floods, droughts, and storms across the country. The UNDP warned that these climate-driven disasters now affect more than 200,000 Afghans every year, upending lives and livelihoods in a nation already battered by decades of conflict.
“Afghanistan contributes the least to global warming yet bears some of the highest costs,” the UNDP stated, highlighting a cruel paradox of the climate crisis. Despite emitting a tiny fraction of the world’s greenhouse gases, Afghanistan finds itself on the front lines of an environmental emergency it did not cause. Prolonged droughts, driven by reduced rainfall, have become the new normal, while the rapid melting of snow and ice during the summer months triggers destructive flash floods that sweep away homes, crops, and hope.
Decades of war and limited investment in infrastructure have left many Afghan communities ill-equipped to cope. The UNDP’s report paints a picture of a country where the capacity to adapt is stretched thin. “Many areas of Afghanistan lack the capacity to cope with climate change impacts due to decades of war and limited infrastructure investment,” the agency noted. The result is a population increasingly vulnerable to the whims of the weather, with little safety net to catch those who fall.
But Afghanistan’s plight is not unique. Around the world, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, more intense, and more destructive. Hong Kong, a bustling metropolis on the edge of the South China Sea, has experienced its own share of climate-fueled chaos in 2025. In late September, Super Typhoon Ragasa barreled through the region, earning the second No 10 typhoon warning of the year and claiming the title of the strongest tropical cyclone globally at that time. Just weeks earlier, on August 5, a black rainstorm battered Hong Kong for more than 11 hours, unleashing torrential floods that inundated streets and homes.
October 2025 was the hottest month on record in Hong Kong since 1884, a milestone that would have seemed unthinkable just a generation ago. According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2024 had already set the stage as the hottest year ever recorded, with 151 “unprecedented” extreme weather events logged around the globe. These heatwaves, supercharged storms, and severe floods have not only wreaked havoc on physical infrastructure—they have also left deep scars on mental health.
It’s easy to focus on the visible destruction: the toppled trees, the flooded streets, the parched fields. Yet, as researchers are now discovering, the psychological fallout from climate change may be just as profound—and far more insidious. A March 2025 study from Trinity College Dublin, published in The Journal of Climate Change and Health, found that chronic climate stressors such as food insecurity and water scarcity are fueling a mental health crisis, especially among adolescents in hard-hit regions like Madagascar. The study reported extreme levels of anxiety, depression, and a profound sense of hopelessness among young people who see their futures washed away by drought and disaster.
“Chronic climate stressors like food insecurity and water scarcity due to drought are fueling a mental health crisis, especially among adolescents in severely affected places such as Madagascar, with reports of extreme levels of anxiety, depression and a profound sense of hopelessness,” the study concluded. The findings echo stories from Afghanistan, where the relentless cycle of drought and flood leaves little room for optimism.
Meanwhile, the digital age is amplifying these psychological effects. A November 2025 study from the University at Buffalo, published in Climatic Change, established a link between greater social media use and higher levels of "climate doom"—the belief that climate change has reached a point of no return. As newsfeeds fill with images of devastation and dire predictions, many users, especially the young, are left feeling helpless and overwhelmed. The study’s authors warned that this pervasive sense of doom can sap motivation and make meaningful action seem futile.
“There is a link between greater social media use and higher levels of climate doom, the belief that climate change has reached a point of no return,” the University at Buffalo study found. The implications are worrying: as more people turn to their screens for information and connection, they may be unwittingly magnifying their own distress.
But it’s not all bad news. Experts point out that small steps—both individual and collective—can help mitigate the psychological toll of climate change. Building community resilience, fostering open conversations about climate anxiety, and advocating for infrastructure investment are all crucial strategies. In Afghanistan, for example, international agencies are working to strengthen early warning systems and support farmers as they adapt to changing weather patterns. In urban centers like Hong Kong, city planners are rethinking drainage systems and heat mitigation strategies to better protect residents from future storms and heatwaves.
At the same time, mental health professionals are urging a shift in how we talk about the climate crisis. Rather than dwelling on inevitability, they advocate for narratives that emphasize agency, adaptation, and hope. As the Trinity College Dublin study suggests, providing young people with tools to cope—and opportunities to participate in solutions—can make a world of difference.
Still, the underlying message from experts and agencies alike is clear: climate change is not a distant threat. It’s here, now, and its impacts are both physical and psychological. For countries like Afghanistan, where decades of war have already frayed the social safety net, the stakes could not be higher. Yet the lessons learned there—and in places like Hong Kong and Madagascar—may hold the key to building a more resilient, hopeful future for all.
As the world faces another year of record-breaking heat and unprecedented storms, the challenge is not just to rebuild what’s been lost, but to reimagine what’s possible. The climate crisis may be formidable, but so too is the human capacity for adaptation, solidarity, and renewal.
