Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and severity as a consequence of climate change and pose a significant threat to population mental health. This is the case even in temperate regions such as the United Kingdom (UK) where flooding and heat waves are forecast to become more common. We conducted a systematic review to quantify the prevalence and describe the causes of common mental health problems in populations exposed to extreme weather events in the UK. We searched Web of Science, EMBASE and PsycINFO for studies that measured the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in populations exposed to extreme weather events in the UK, published up to 12 December 2019. We included 17 studies, four of which were included in meta-analyses to determine the point prevalence of common mental health problems in the period within 12 months following extreme weather events. The point prevalence was 19.8% for anxiety (k = 4; n = 1458; 95% CI 7.42 to 32.15), 21.35% for depression (k = 4; n = 1458; 95% CI 9.04 to 33.65) and 30.36% for PTSD (k = 4; n = 1359; 95% CI 11.68 to 49.05). Key factors that affected mental ill health in people exposed to flooding were water depth and absence of flood warnings. Displacement from home underscored the narratives associated with people’s perceptions of the impact of flooding. The high prevalence of common mental health problems suggests that the prevention of mental ill health in populations at risk or exposed to extreme weather events should be a UK public health priority.

There is growing interest in the ways natural environments influence the development and progression of long-term health conditions. Vegetation and water bodies, also known as green and blue spaces, have the potential to affect health and behaviour through the provision of aesthetic spaces for relaxation, socialisation and physical activity. While research has previously assessed how green and blue spaces affect mental and physical wellbeing, little is known about the relationship between these exposures and health outcomes over time. This systematic review summarised the published evidence from longitudinal observational studies on the relationship between exposure to green and blue space with mental and physical health in adults. Included health outcomes were common mental health conditions, severe mental health conditions and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). An online bibliographic search of six databases was completed in July 2020. After title, abstract and full-text screening, 44 eligible studies were included in the analysis. Depression, diabetes and obesity were the health conditions most frequently studied in longitudinal relationships. The majority of exposures included indicators of green space availability and urban green space accessibility. Few studies addressed the relationship between blue space and health. The narrative synthesis pointed towards mixed evidence of a protective relationship between exposure to green space and health. There was high heterogeneity in exposure measures and adjustment for confounding between studies. Future policy and research should seek a standardised approach towards measuring green and blue space exposures and employ theoretical grounds for confounder adjustment.

The Mediterranean basin is a biodiversity hotspot which is being threatened by land abandonment and afforestation, most notably with eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.) plantations. We assessed the impact of eucalyptus plantations on niche partitioning in a carnivore community consisting of red fox (Vulpes vulpes), badger (Meles meles), and stone marten (Martes foina). Based on data from camera trapping, we evaluated the influence of eucalyptus plantations on species occupancy and detection in single-species and co-occurrence models and on temporal activity. Eucalyptus cover negatively influenced detection probability across all species in both single and co-occurrence models. Stone marten detection decreased with the presence of the other carnivores but red fox detection increased in the presence of badgers. Eucalyptus plantations had a negative effect on occupancy of red foxes, which preferred open farmland and evergreen oak forest. Stone marten preferred large patches of oak forest, whereas badger occupancy was positively influenced by patch richness. Occupancy of any one species was not influenced by the presence of any other species. Despite having an effect on the detection and occupancy of all 3 carnivores, eucalyptus plantations had no effect on the interactions within this carnivore community. However, these results have to be interpreted with precaution since the probability of detection for badger and stone marten, in 2011, was below 0.15, making it difficult to make accurate assumptions. The results show the relatively greater importance of habitat preferences compared with interspecific relationships in determining distribution of these carnivores and highlight the importance of using models that can correct for differences in detectability for inferring interspecific competition, especially when species occur at low densities.