Climate change "affects the way you live, what you do with your children, people's mental health," says Marilyn Baikie, a health professional in the small, remote coastal village of 300 people.

In the past, people could travel on the frozen waters until spring to fish or spend time in nature, an integral part of their culture.

But this region of Canada is one of the fastest warming areas on Earth and residents are now worried about whether the ice will hold.

When winter temperatures exceed zero degrees, Marilyn Baikie and her colleagues organize activities - crafts or sharing experiences between young and old - to pass the time and ease their stress.

Other projects focus on participating in scientific work or mapping safe routes that can be taken on ice.

The question even arises of providing Rigolet, currently only accessible by plane or snowmobile in winter, with a road.

"When you talk about it, it really breaks your heart," Marilyn Baikie told AFP.

"Normal response"

They were among the first to warn of the psychological impacts linked to climate change about ten years ago.

For these inhabitants, their land is an integral part of their lives, explains researcher Ashlee Cunsolo, who works on the links between climate change and mental health.

She is one of the authors of a new UN report on the consequences of global warming which will be published on Monday.

This report should highlight the significant implications of climate change in terms of health, both physical and mental.

Unlike other diseases, which are clearly visible, the psychological impact is "slow and cumulative. It affects identity", underlines Ashlee Cunsolo, speaking of the inhabitants of Rigolet.

For the researcher, these people suffer "from homesickness while staying there".

These psychological impacts range from a range of emotions - sadness, fear, anger - to anxiety or depression.

People affected by extreme climatic events can suffer from post-traumatic stress.

“How can we help the increasing number of people confronted with this type of trauma?” asks the researcher, as disasters multiply.

Young people are particularly affected.

According to a study published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, nearly 60% of 16-25 year olds questioned fear climate change.

A young Inuit has fun in an igloo in Iqaluit, Canada, April 24, 2015 Jo Biddle AFP/Archives

This figure rises to 84% in the Philippines.

Fear is strong among young people with access to the internet and social media, says Manila-based psychologist John Jamir Benzon Aruta.

“They worry about how powerful the typhoons will be, if it's a safe place for them and their future children,” he explains.

This anxiety can be seen as "a normal response to the current threat", he continues.

"Solastalgia"

What people need, a growing number of experts point out, is hope.

Dystopian visions of the future can saturate people's imaginations, warns Finnish researcher Panu Pihkala, for whom it is necessary "to maintain a sense of meaning in life" and "to emphasize hope".

As early as 2005, the Australian philosopher and activist Glenn Albrecht forged the concept of “solastalgia” for eco-anxiety, the pain of the absence of comfort, from the English solace “(comfort), and nostalgia. , we must "reinvent the way we talk about our present and our future".

In the Inuit village, recognizing these emotional impacts has helped residents but also sparked research that could bring relief to others around the world, hopes Marilyn Baikie.

The Inuit hamlet of Kugluktuk, Canada, September 17, 2015 Clement Sabourin AFP/Archives

Climate disasters should not be presented as "inevitable", she insists.

Every gesture counts and if we "really invest time and attention in it, I think we will start to see changes", she hopes.

"The time has come to stop talking about it and act."

© 2022 AFP