UditVani, Ranchi/ Jamshedpur : The Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra (BIT Mesra) has been awarded a government-funded research grant of Rs 2.4 crore to spearhead a multi-institutional study examining the impact of climate change, environmental conditions, and socio-economic factors on mental health across diverse regions of India.
The ambitious project brings together leading academic and clinical institutions, including Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (RINPAS), Birla Institute of Technology Noida Campus, National Institute of Technology Sikkim, and National Institute of Technology Calicut.
Together, these institutions represent a wide spectrum of climatic zones—urban environments, high-altitude ecosystems, coastal regions, and eastern India—ensuring region-specific insights into climate-linked mental health outcomes.
The study aims to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), geospatial science, and clinical psychology to develop predictive tools that can strengthen public health planning and early intervention systems. By generating evidence-based, region-specific findings, the research seeks to contribute to more informed and responsive public health strategies.
Dr. Shamama Anwar, Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at BIT Mesra and the Principal Investigator of the project, said the team will employ structured surveys, wearable health devices, portable environmental sensors, and advanced data analytics to examine correlations between temperature fluctuations, air quality, humidity, socio-economic stress indicators, and mental health outcomes. She further noted that the research team will utilize machine learning-driven spatio-temporal techniques to develop AI-based predictive models capable of identifying and forecasting potential mental health stress hotspots linked to climatic variations.
Dr. Kirti Avishek, Associate Professor in the Department of Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics and Co-Principal Investigator, highlighted that one of the key deliverables of the project will be a web-based geospatial decision-support platform for policymakers and public health authorities. The platform will enable visualization of regional trends and facilitate scenario-based planning for climate-sensitive mental health interventions. The project is being led by Dr. Shamama Anwar, with Co-Principal Investigators including Dr. Supriti Kamilya (BIT Mesra), Dr. Kirti Avishek (BIT Mesra), Dr. Swati Prasad (BIT Noida Campus), Dr. Amool Ranjan Singh (RINPAS, Kanke), Dr. Sangram Ray (NIT Sikkim), and Dr. Raju Hajari (NIT Calicut).
This pioneering initiative positions BIT Mesra at the forefront of interdisciplinary research, addressing one of the most pressing global challenges—understanding and mitigating the mental health consequences of climate change.
