The latest UNICEF report on climate hazards has warned that nearly one billion children worldwide are at risk of being disproportionately affected, particularly in certain regions of the world.
The report said the UN agency cross-referenced data showing where the planet's roughly 2.4 billion children live with the geographic distribution of the eight most common climate-related hazards.
These include coastal flooding, droughts, tropical storms, heatwaves, at least three days above a high-temperature threshold that varies by country, extreme heat, wildfires and sandstorms.
The report primarily focuses on the 1.1 billion children who are exposed to at least three climate risks, with the most common combination being drought, extreme heat (above 35 degrees Celsius) and heatwaves.
This combination affects around 296 million children, including 74 million in Nigeria, 34 million in Pakistan and 32 million in India.
Almost all children — around 2.3 billion — are exposed to at least one climate risk. Two billion are exposed to at least two risks, while 364 million face at least four. Of the 123,000 children exposed to seven or more climate hazards, about 46,000 are in Myanmar.
“Children are at the forefront of the impacts of climate change,” said UNICEF chief Catherine Russell. As for the worst place for a child to live, “there isn't a simple answer,” one of the report's authors, Tom Slaymaker, told reporters on Tuesday.
The report also highlighted the vulnerability of 39 island nations that face challenges such as limited freshwater resources, import dependence and a limited ability to relocate populations after disasters such as hurricanes.
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