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Introduction

How can you protect your mental health from the impacts of climate change? Neil and Beth discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary.

This week's question

According to research organisation World Weather Attribution, human-caused climate change made the LA wildfires in January 2025:

a)   10% more likely
b)   35% more likely
c)   20% less likely

Listen to the programme to hear the answer.

Vocabulary

trauma
the very bad and long-lasting emotional effects of an event or experience

struck by
interested or impressed by

reknit together
become closer again

resilient
able to get better more easily when bad things happen

silver lining
a positive thing that comes from a negative situation

hurdle
challenge or difficulty

TRANSCRIPT

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript. 

Beth
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Beth.

Neil
And I'm Neil. Today we're going to talk about climate change and how it can affect people's mental health. Natural disasters and the impacts of climate change can be stressful. Isn't that right, Beth?

Beth
Yeah, definitely. In today's episode we're going to find out about how people can protect their mental health from the impacts of climate change. We'll be hearing from a psychiatry expert and a man who survived a wildfire and helped rebuild his town.

Neil
But first, Beth, I have a question for you. Scientists aren't always sure whether natural disasters like floods and wildfires are as a result of human-caused climate change. But in January 2025, big wildfires affected big parts of Los Angeles in California. But according to research organisation World Weather Attribution, human-caused climate change made the fires: 

a)    10% more likely
b)    35% more likely
c)    20% less likely 

Beth
Erm… I'm going to say 10% more likely.

Neil
OK. Well, we'll find out the answer at the end of the programme. Now, natural disasters like floods and wildfires can destroy homes and communities.

Beth
People who live in areas affected by natural disasters can often experience climate trauma. Trauma is what we call the very bad and long-lasting emotional effects of an event or experience.

Neil
Professor Jyoti Mishra is an expert in climate trauma at the University of California. She explained more about the condition to Graihagh Jackson, host of BBC World Service programme, The Climate Question.

Jyoti Mishra
Climate trauma is not an individual trauma, it's a community-wide trauma which really requires community-wide healing.

Graihagh Jackson
Yeah, I'm really struck by what you've said about the fact that it's whole communities that are affected, not individuals, but also part of the solution is about the community and how it rebuilds and reknits together.

Jyoti Mishra
Absolutely, yes. So, we've found that individuals who have a greater sense of positive support from their family and a greater sense of meaningful connection with their community — they are in general more resilient.

Beth
Jyoti's research on climate trauma has found that it affects communities rather than individuals.

Neil
Host of the programme Graihagh Jackson is struck by what Jyoti says. If you're struck by an idea, you find it particularly interesting or impressive.

Beth
Graihagh says that part of the solution to climate trauma could be in how the community reknits together. This means how the social connections in a community are restored. We can often describe a community as close-knit, which means everyone helps and supports each other.

Neil
Jyoti explains that having a strong community also helps reduce or heal climate trauma. She says that research has found that people who have a strong community are more resilient when bad things, like natural disasters, happen. If you're resilient, you're able to get better more easily after something difficult or bad happens.

Beth
One person who had to be resilient is Brad Sherwood. He survived a wildfire in Northern California in 2017 called the Tubbs fire, but when he returned home, his neighbourhood was destroyed.

Neil
Brad started to volunteer for a local support network called After the Fire to try to rebuild his community, as he explained to BBC World Service programme, The Climate Question.

Brad Sherwood
The silver lining in all this — I mean, if it wasn't for the Tubbs fire, we wouldn't be working as a community right now to build a new community plaza. We were a close community before the Tubbs, but afterwards we are so much stronger and resilient. And I think our children are as well. They can jump over any hurdle.

Beth
Brad says that the work to rebuild and improve his community is the silver lining to the fire. The expression silver lining means a positive thing that comes from a negative situation.

Neil
Brad's community became more resilient after the fire, including the children. He says that they can jump over any hurdle. We can describe challenges or difficult things in life as hurdles.

Beth
And it's quite inspiring, I think, to hear how Brad has taken a bad situation and tried to stay resilient. Now, the organisation Brad volunteers for, After the Fire, are helping those impacted by the fires in LA in January.

Neil
Which reminds me, I asked you, Beth, about the impacts of human-made climate change on the wildfires in LA in January.

Beth
And I said 10% more likely. 

Neil
Which was, I'm afraid, the wrong answer. It was actually 35%.

Beth
Wow. OK. Well, let's recap the vocabulary we've learnt, starting with trauma, which is what we call the very bad and long-lasting emotional effects of an event or experience. 

Neil
If you're struck by an idea or something someone has said, you find it particularly interesting or impressive.

Beth
If a community reknits together, it becomes closer again. And a close-knit community is where everyone looks after each other.

Neil
Resilient means able to get better more easily when bad things happen.

Beth
A silver lining is a positive thing that comes from a negative situation.

Neil
And we can describe challenges or difficult things in life as hurdles.

Beth
Once again, our six minutes are up, but why not try the interactive quiz on our website to test what you've learned, and we have a free worksheet as well. Just visit bbclearningenglish.com.

Neil
Thanks for listening and goodbye!

Beth
Bye!