Impacts of Extreme Weather Events on Mental Health & Well-Being &#8211; Key Findings from a Global &#8216;Scoping&#8217; Literature Review
Authors: Chique Carlos , Hynds Paul , Nyhan Marguerite , Lambert Sharon , Boudou Martin , O'Dwyer Jean 
Published: March 2022

&lt;p&gt;Available evidence indicates Extreme Weather Event (EWE) frequency has increased significantly in the last &amp;#8275; 70 years along a 0.5&amp;#176;C global temperature rise. As such, a major concern arising from global warming projections are the potential impacts of increasingly frequent and intense EWEs on public health and societal well-being. The substantial toll of EWEs on socio-economic and physical health is well understood. Yet, due to a range of methodological impediments, the impact EWEs on psychological health and well-being remain less certain. Within this context, this literature review aimed to provide an &amp;#8220;empirical&amp;#8221; baseline of the psychological and well-being impacts of individuals exclusively exposed to EWEs. Given the wide range of psychological and well-being metrics available in the literature, the review was grounded on a &amp;#8216;holistic&amp;#8217; approach with the all-encompassing concept of &amp;#8220;psychological impairment&amp;#8221; adopted. Here, impairment data, or morbidity, was pooled at the level of key Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) psychological &amp;#8220;Domains&amp;#8221;, including PTSD, Anxiety and Depression. Morbidity data was also pooled at a &amp;#8220;composite&amp;#8221; (any impairment) category encompassing all employed DSM-based domains. Further, reported risk factors (&lt;em&gt;p&lt;/em&gt; &lt; 0.05) and pooled odds ratios (pOR) were extracted and calculated from each pertinent study. Overall, 59 peer-reviewed investigations accounting for 61,443 EWE-exposed individuals comprised the review dataset. A &amp;#8220;composite&amp;#8221; post-exposure pooled-prevalence rate of 23% was estimated along with values of 24% for depression and &amp;#8275; 17% for both PTSD and anxiety. Notably, estimated pOR (1.9) indicate a &gt; 90% likelihood of a negative psychological outcome or impaired well-being among exposed individuals. Methodologically, a prevalent lack of integration of &amp;#8220;control&amp;#8221; criterion among reviewed investigations was identified. In this context, pooled data collated can be considered more akin to &amp;#8220;prevalence&amp;#8221; rates rather than a finite metric of &amp;#8220;incidence&amp;#8221; linking EWE exposure and outcomes. Collation of reported risk factors indicate more pronounced impacts among individuals with higher levels of EWE exposure (14.5%) and socio-demographic traits which are often associated with vulnerable population sub-groups, including female gender (10%), lower socio-economic status (5.5%), and a lower education level (5.2%). Regionally, Asia exhibited the highest impairment rates which is tentatively attributed to a combination of high EWE frequency and population density. The findings of this study provide a quantitative evidence base which can be used to inform public health intervention strategies focusing on exposed populations in the aftermath of EWEs.&lt;/p&gt;