SINGAPORE – For a growing number of children across the globe, the future is looking pretty scary. Rising sea levels, floods that consume towns and cities, baking heatwaves, vanishing wildlife and plastic pollution are making them feel increasingly anxious, according to researchers. Climate change is a major source of that worry.

“Negative emotions stemming from or associated with the anticipation of climate change is often, but not always, labelled as eco-anxiety,” said Dr Denise Dillon, associate professor of psychology at James Cook University, Singapore.