India, March 3 -- Imagine a teenager in a coastal town. Her school has been shut down twice due to flooding. Her parents' income is shaky. The local council sends emails about "monitoring the situation" but offers no real emotional support. The teen starts to wonder: "Why is no one fixing this?" That helplessness turns into tension. One day, she snaps at a friend and shouts at her siblings. This is not just a personal problem; it is the system breaking down around her. It is the emotional fallout of a planet in crisis.

Over the past decade, scientists have observed a remarkable trend: teenagers are increasingly experiencing what are now referred to as eco-emotions. These include solastalgia-the emotional pain caused by environmental chan...