More than 1 billion children worldwide are exposed to at least three overlapping climate hazards, underscoring the growing impact of climate change on younger generations, according to a new UNICEF report released Monday.
The report cross-referenced global data on approximately 2.4 billion children with the geographic distribution of eight of the world’s most common climate hazards, including coastal flooding, river flooding, drought, tropical cyclones, heatwaves, extreme heat, wildfires and sandstorms.
“Children are on the frontlines of the climate crisis,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said, according to AFP.
The analysis found that about 1.1 billion children face exposure to at least three climate-related hazards simultaneously. The most common combination consists of drought, extreme temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), and prolonged heatwaves.
That combination affects an estimated 296 million children, particularly in countries including Nigeria, Pakistan and India, according to the report. UNICEF said the number has risen sharply over the past two decades as climate-related risks continue to intensify.
The report also found that nearly all of the world’s children—around 2.3 billion—are exposed to at least one climate hazard, while about 2 billion experience at least two overlapping risks. Another 364 million children face four separate climate hazards.
Among the most severely affected, approximately 123,000 children are exposed to seven or more climate hazards. Nearly 46,000 of those children live in Myanmar, making it one of the countries facing the highest concentration of overlapping climate threats.
Tom Slaymaker, one of the report’s authors, said identifying the single worst place in the world for children affected by climate change is difficult because risks vary across regions.
“We see several hotspots. They are really concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia,” Slaymaker told AFP.
He said the impact of climate-related disasters in those regions is often compounded by limited government capacity to respond effectively to emergencies and protect vulnerable populations.
Chad was highlighted as one of the countries facing the greatest challenges, with restricted access to clean water, electricity and food further increasing children’s vulnerability. According to the report, more than 95% of children in Chad are exposed to at least three climate hazards.
Despite its broad scope, Slaymaker acknowledged that the report has limitations because it focuses only on the eight most common climate hazards. Other threats affecting children in different parts of the world, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, were not included in the assessment.
He suggested that children in those regions may face additional climate-related risks, including the impacts of glacier melt and other environmental changes not covered by the report.
The findings add to growing concerns among climate experts that children are disproportionately affected by global warming because of their greater physical vulnerability and their limited ability to adapt to increasingly frequent and severe weather events.
The report calls for stronger investments in climate adaptation, resilient infrastructure and child-focused disaster preparedness to reduce the long-term impacts of climate change on future generations.
