ABSTRACT
Nuclear holocaust fiction of the 1950s and 1960s, as well as cli-fi published today, all use the fantastical convention of describing imaginary disasters, and yet they resonate with current issues and threats posed to the environment, human health, and even civilisation’s very survival. Living in a warming world is a nerve-wracking experience: the familiar environment— plants, landscapes, weather, the changing of seasons—is being altered. Media coverage of catastrophic climate events from all over the planet adds to the feeling of anxiety, and science reports warn against the coming radical change in nature, while eco-sceptics undermine scientific findings. Paradoxically, the fierceness of climate deniers only confirms how great the emotional burden is of having to face the issue: whether we want it or not in the world of today—just like during the Cold War—the possibility of imminent disaster is looming large ahead of us. Before attempting to discuss anxieties reflected in selected nuclear holocaust and cli-fi novels, however, let us first look at how, in the early twenty-first century, critics defined and described climate-related mental conditions.
