Heat stress severely impacting children under 9 - report
Children under the age of nine are suffering severe impacts on their health and development due to alarming levels of humid heat caused by human-induced climate change.
An alarming new report from the Global Strategic Communications Council (GSCC) reveals that children under the age of nine are enduring severe health impacts due to alarming levels of humid heat caused by human-induced climate change. This is the first study of its kind to quantify how heat exposure directly linked to climate change disproportionately affects different age groups globally.
The research shows that children aged 0 to 9 years old are already 43% of all children facing at least one additional month of heat stress per year, compared to 30% of those aged 60 to 69.
The report highlights that the largest increases in humid heat due to climate change are unevenly distributed, predominantly occurring in tropical regions and poorer countries. These areas tend to have younger populations, meaning more children are affected. The areas with the highest number of children exposed to dangerous heat stress are primarily in South and Southeast Asia, as well as West Africa.
The study projects that a 1.5-degree increase in temperature would negatively impact 620 million children globally, while a 2-degree temperature rise could put the health of 650 million children at severe risk.
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