Climate change and child hunger are inseparably linked

Children are among the most vulnerable members of any society — their bodies smaller, their immune systems still developing, their needs greater. For millions across the country, especially in rural and marginalised communities, daily nourishment was already a struggle. Now, their fragile well-being is being pushed to the brink by intensifying disasters — relentless heatwaves, devastating floods, prolonged droughts.

When crops fail, water dries up, or a home is swept away, it’s children who feel the first pangs of hunger. Their meals shrink or disappear altogether, school gates close, and their growth — physical, mental, emotional — is quietly stunted. From Odisha to Assam, Jharkhand to West Bengal, a silent emergency is unfolding: a child hunger crisis sharpened and multiplied by a changing climate.

This isn’t just about food security. It’s about survival, dignity, and the fundamental rights of children — rights now being threatened every time the skies turn too hot, the rains arrive too late, or floodwaters rush in too soon.

Silent toll of heat waves, floods, and droughts

Take Gouri, a seven-year-old in Odisha’s Balangir district. Not long ago, her meals included rice and home-grown greens, with her mother’s earnings adding lentils or pulses to the plate. But last year, back-to-back weather shocks — first intense heat, then unseasonal rain — wiped out their crops. Now, Gouri eats just once a day, often only rice with salt. She’s started missing school and lacks the energy to play.

In Assam’s Barpeta district, Raju’s family lost everything in the flood last year — their mud home, their food stores. And their only lifeline: the local Anganwadi centre, was closed for repairs for months. His father was out of a job for days. “We ate only when someone helped,” he says. “Mostly, it was just tea and flattened rice.”

Across states like Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam and Jharkhand, the impact of climate chaos is turning an already fragile nutrition situation into a full-blown crisis. And while the whole country is feeling the heat, children from marginalised communities bear the worst of it — where poverty, hunger, and poor infrastructure intersect.

Climate change: A multiplier for hunger

Science confirms what families already know — climate change disrupts food systems. But on the ground, it looks like a mother skipping dinner so her child can eat. It looks like children dropping out of school because floods shut down their only meal source. It looks like girls eating last, eating least, and becoming dangerously anaemic before they reach adulthood.

Children are especially vulnerable. Their bodies need more food and water relative to their size. They can’t regulate heat like adults. They’re more likely to suffer from dehydration, malnutrition, and respiratory issues. According to UNICEF, a third of the world’s children are highly exposed to heat waves. India ranks 26th on the Children’s Climate Risk Index — high exposure, high vulnerability.

In West Bengal’s South 24-Parganas district, the harvest yield on vegetable farms hasn’t been good over the past two years. Heat and erratic rain have turned the soil barren. Salt water has seeped into acres and lessened productivity. Khushi and her family survive on starch — rice and potato. The 14-year-old is often low on energy.

In the flood-prone areas of Bihar, schools often close for weeks. Children like 10-year-old Afsar — who relied on the mid-day meal scheme — are left hungry. Food prices surge post-disaster. Even simple staples like lentils or eggs become luxuries.

Urban poverty and the climate migration trap

As climate-driven crop failures and floods wreck rural livelihoods, families are pushed into cities — often into even more precarious lives.

In Durgapur, West Bengal, Sabita’s family now lives in a tarpaulin shack near a construction site. They fled from drought-hit Birbhum, looking for work. Sabita, out of school and Anganwadi reach, survives on processed snacks and scraps her mother brings from her job. Fresh vegetables and proteins are rare. Her growth is already stunted — physically and mentally. In a nearby slum, 11-year-old Imran’s family sometimes manages just one meal a day. With no water and unsafe storage during heat waves, food goes bad quickly. His mother says, “The kids sleep hungry.”

Climate-related displacement is devastating. These children face hunger, drop out of school, are forced into labour, and lose access to basic protection.

Girls: The first to suffer, the last to eat

In every crisis, girls seem to be hit the hardest.

Munni, 13, lives in a tribal village in Jharkhand’s Giridih district. After poor harvests, her parents pulled her out of school. She now fetches water and helps at home, while her brothers still study. She eats what’s left — usually a handful of rice. At a health camp, she was diagnosed as severely anaemic. Climate stress is deepening gender inequality, setting off a vicious cycle of malnutrition, school drop-out, and early marriage and pregnancy — a cycle that traps families in poverty for generations.

Beyond hunger: Polluted air, mental stress, and lost futures

The crisis isn’t just about food. It’s also about the air children breathe. Over 90 per cent of the world’s children are exposed to toxic air, made worse by climate-induced pollution — wildfires, dust storms, fossil fuel emissions. These contribute to asthma, pneumonia, and cognitive delays.

And then there’s the emotional toll. Across disaster-affected communities, children report anxiety, fear, and hopelessness about climate change. For children living in the environmentally fragile Sundarbans area, darkened skies trigger ominous thoughts — the scars. Global studies show over half of children feel deeply anxious, and many blame governments for failing them. Repeated disasters lead to depression and PTSD. It’s a mental health crisis unfolding in silence.

A way forward: Rights-based, climate-smart nutrition

These stories aren’t isolated — they are symptoms of a larger systemic failure. But we can intervene, and we must. And the solutions must be local, climate-resilient, and rooted in human rights.

Promote climate-resilient, indigenous crops like millets, especially in drought-hit areas. These should be part of public nutrition schemes like ICDS and mid-day meals.

Strengthen infrastructure: Build flood-resilient Anganwadi centres, mobile health units, and local food storage systems.

Adapt school meals to seasonal availability and local produce. Partner with women’s groups and small farmers to keep meals fresh and relevant.

Map child health data alongside climate risks to identify hotspots. Deploy mobile kitchens, extra rations, and psychological support in disaster zones.

Listen to communities — especially women and adolescent girls. Their experiences offer insights no policy paper ever will.

A warming planet, a withering childhood

When climate change steals food off a child’s plate, it’s more than just a skipped meal. It’s a gateway to stunting, sickness, missed schooling, and lost futures. It’s a quiet erosion of their rights. And it’s entirely preventable — if we act.

Climate change and child hunger should not be treated as separate issues. They are inseparably linked. The science is clear. The stories are everywhere. The solutions exist. What we lack is urgency. And every day we delay, we write another chapter of intergenerational injustice. The real question isn’t if climate change is hurting our children. It’s how long we’ll wait before we do something about it.

The author is the Regional Director of CRY (East)

 Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth