Climate change is reshaping weather patterns around the world, with monsoons, droughts, hurricanes and heatwaves all occurring with greater frequency and intensity. Aside from disturbing ecosystems, these environmental shifts risk triggering psychological reactions in people that can escalate into violent conflict.
The cognitive mechanisms that are triggered in people as a result of the effects of climate change share fundamental similarities with aggression in other settings. Consider two parallel scenarios. In the first, one person accidentally bumps into another person in a crowded bar. The bumped individual, already stressed from work woes, assumes malicious intent and retaliates violently.
