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Climate Change Steals India's Childhoods
29 Jun
Summary
- Nearly all Indian children face climate hazards daily.
- Climate change impacts children's health, education, and survival.
- Children suffer anxiety, health issues, and learning loss due to climate.
Almost every child in India faces climate hazards, with 99.66% exposed to at least one. A UNICEF report highlights that 411.62 million children are exposed to two or more hazards, impacting their health, education, and survival.
Drought and extreme heat are the most common combined risks, affecting over 158 million children. Beyond these, many face air pollution and vector-borne diseases, with India scoring extremely high on air pollution risk.
The climate crisis disrupts daily life, causing school closures due to heat, rain, or pollution. Children experience loss of outdoor play, impacting social skills, and face anxiety over floods and environmental instability. This also threatens food security, leading to 'hidden hunger' from consuming less nutritious diets.
Children's mental health is deeply affected by uncertainty and stress, leading to trauma, worry, and difficulty regulating emotions. These climate-induced disruptions also drive school dropouts among children from distressed families. Urgent child-responsive climate policies and urban planning changes are needed.
