Awareness and Attitude Towards Climate Change and Its Effects on Health Among Secondary Level Students in Selected Schools of Pokhara

Abstract

Introduction: Climate change poses a growing threat to human health worldwide, with consequences that no single nation can address in isolation. Rising temperatures, more frequent extreme weather, worsening air quality, and shifting patterns of infectious disease are placing increasing strain on public health systems, economies, and social stability. Building climate change awareness and cultivating positive attitudes toward it among young people is a key step toward environmentally responsible behavior and stronger public health outcomes. This study set out to measure how much secondary-level students at SainikAwasiya Mahavidyalaya, Pokhara understand about climate change and its health impacts, and how they feel about it.

Method: A total of 189 students from grades 9 and 10 at the school took part in this cross-sectional survey, selected through a multistage sampling process. Parents provided written consent before their children completed a self-administered structured questionnaire covering both knowledge and attitude items. The resulting data were coded and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: Just over 60% of students demonstrated adequate awareness, but only about 45.5% expressed a positive attitude toward climate change and its health impact. Age and educational level were both significantly associated with awareness level (p <0.001), while no significant relationship emerged for gender, residence, subject preference, or mobile phone access .

Conclusion: Knowing more about climate change did not reliably translate into feeling positively about it for most students in this sample fewer than half held favorable views despite comparatively strong baseline knowledge. Since awareness tracked closely with age and grade, interventions timed to specific school years may be more effective than generic, one-size-fits-all programming.