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Nearly half a billion children are facing twice as many or more days of extreme heat each year than their grandparents, the United Nations said on Tuesday, warning of deadly consequences.
As temperatures continue to rise globally due to climate change, one in five children – some 466 million children – lives in areas where “the number of extremely hot days each year is at least double” compared to 60 years ago, UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund agency, said.
Also read: 40,000 suspected cases of heat stroke reported in India this summer
“Young children do not have the same bodies as small adults, they are much more vulnerable to extreme heat,” Lily Caprani, UNICEF’s advocacy chief, told AFP. She also warned of the dangers for pregnant women.
Additionally, children miss out on education when high temperatures force schools to close – affecting at least 80 million children so far in 2024.
UNICEF used days reaching 95 °F (35 °C) as a benchmark and compared average temperatures over the period 2020–2024 to those of the 1960s.
Also read: 85 people died due to heat as mercury soared
Such hot days — and means to cope with high temperatures, such as air conditioning — affect the entire world, the report says.
Children most exposed to heat:
Children in western and central Africa are hardest hit, where 123 million children — 39 percent of the region’s children — face days with temperatures of 95 degrees or higher a third of each year.
For example, in Mali — where air conditioning is out of reach for millions and blackouts keep fans out — temperatures can reach 95 degrees or higher more than 200 days a year.
Meanwhile, 48 million children in Latin America are experiencing twice as many days with temperatures of 95 degrees or above than they did 60 years ago.
“The situation for these children is getting worse all over the world,” Caprani said.
He said children are “fragile and their breathing is very rapid. They can’t sweat as well as adults. They are more vulnerable to heat stress and it can literally be life-threatening.”
UNICEF has warned that higher temperatures could increase child malnutrition and make children more vulnerable to diseases, especially malaria and dengue, which spread in hot climates.
Also read: Beware of heat stroke! Warning signs in a heatwave that should not be ignored
Extreme heat can also have a negative impact on neural development and mental health.
UNICEF has called for more education for parents about the symptoms of heat stroke, better training for medical workers and investment in air conditioning in schools – where hot conditions can make learning difficult even if classes are not cancelled.
Still, major efforts are underway to curb climate change, which is being caused by humanity’s use of fossil fuels.
“As governments are currently drafting their national climate action plans, they can do so with ambition and the knowledge that today’s children and future generations will have to live in the world they leave behind,” UNICEF chief Catherine Russell said in a statement.
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