Heatwave anxiety can make you feel ‘incredibly helpless’ – here’s how to manage it
Watts is not alone. A 2022 study from the University of Bath estimates that around 4.6% of people in the UK suffer from climate anxiety, which is considered a form of mental distress by professional bodies and the NHS. According to a study published in 2025, young people and women are among the groups most at risk.
University of Bath psychologist Dr. Caroline Hickman and Dr. from Oxford University. Emma Lawrence says “anticipatory anxiety”, particularly around heatwaves, is becoming more common.
“When people encounter a traumatic event like a flood or a heatwave, they anticipate the next one,” Hickman, who offers therapy to people with climate anxiety, told the BBC.
In the UK “now we’re getting it again, again, again [heatwaves]. “It triggers the feeling of ‘I can’t be safe in the world and the world can’t be trusted,'” he added.
During the June heat wave, Hickman said, “there were people saying they were going to kill themselves, there were people saying they were going to terminate their pregnancies, there were people saying they wanted to sell their house and move somewhere cooler.”
Watts said her video “clearly struck a chord with people” — including therapists who posted comments about their coping mechanisms — and that she wanted to help others cope with climate anxiety.
“It can go one of two ways. Either you fall into disaster and say, ‘What’s the point?’ “You might think,” he said.
“Or you can try doing something. During the heatwave, I sign petitions; organize climate community events; run a free clothes swap shop for kids. During the last heatwave, I finally became a vegetarian, because then I can at least tell my kids I tried.”
