1 in 4 children lives in areas where the average heatwave event lasts 4.7 days or longer
Heatwaves lead to poor health and nutrition among children. Photo: UNICEF Nearly all the world’s children will be exposed to more frequent and severe heatwaves by 2050, according to a new United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report.
Currently, some 559 million children are exposed to at least four to five hazardous heatwaves annually, according to The Coldest Year of the Rest of Their Lives report.
The number will quadruple to over two billion by 2050 — up from 24 per cent of children in 2020. This amounts to an increase of about 1.5 billion children.
“virtually every child on earth” will face severe heatwaves even under a low greenhouse gas emission scenario — with an estimated 1.7 degrees celcius of warming in 2050.
A heatwave is any period of three days or more when the maximum temperature each day is in the top 10 per cent of the local 15-day average.
Heatwaves with longer duration pose more risks for children as they spend more time outdoors than adults for — sports and other activities — putting them at greater risk for heat injury.
One in four children lives in areas where the average heatwave event lasts 4.7 days or longer as of 2020. This percentage will rise to over three in four children under a low-emission scenario by 2050.
Children in southern, western and south-eastern Asia, eastern and southern Europe and northern Africa experience heatwaves of longer duration.
At “2.4 degrees of warming, 94 per cent of children will be exposed with only small areas of southern America, central Africa, Australasia and Asia not exposed to high heatwave duration,” the UNICEF report read.
Children are affected by heat in two broad ways:
Heatwave risks to health include — heat stroke, heat stress, allergy, chronic respiratory conditions, asthma, mosquito-borne disease, cardiovascular disease, under-nutrition and diarrhoea.
High temperatures are linked to increased mental health problems in children and adolescents, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
Extreme heat affects children’s education and future livelihoods, said the UNICEF report.
Heatwaves lead to poor health and nutrition among children and are linked to lower academic perfomance and attendance. High temperatures and lower hydration affect children’s ability to concentrate.
Heatwaves also threaten children’s safety. Communities are forced to search for and compete over food and water resources as pastures and household income dry up. The resulting migration, displacement and conflict expose children to serious physical harm and violence risks.
Nineteen-year-old Nkosi Nyathi, from Zimbabwe, said he walks five kilometres to school under the scorching sun.
“Imagine writing final exams outside in the dry, sweltering heat and still being expected to pass with flying colours,” Nkosi said.
He added that this is the daily life for himself and over thousands of schoolchildren in his city.
The UNICEF data stressed on adopting adaptation and mitigation strategies. There is a need to ensure that the vulnerable have the resources to adopt the critical social services required to protect them.
The report said the countries must:
Climate education is crucial in the fight against climate change, said 22-year-old Oumou Hawa Diallo from Guinea.
Guinea is the fourth most affected country, according to UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Index. Heavy rains cause floods, costing the lives of many children.
On the other hand, lack of water during droughts leads to the destruction of crops and malnutrition among children, said Diallo.
The 27 the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change must unlock progress on loss and damage, placing the resilience of children and their communities at the centre of discussions on action and support.
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