“The coldest year of the rest of their lives” report

October 25, 2022

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) recently released a report titled “The coldest year of the rest of their lives”.

Key findings

For the first time, the UNICEF provided estimates on how many children will be exposed to 4 measures of heatwaves (High heatwave frequency, High heatwave duration, High heatwave severity and Extreme high temperatures) by 2050.
The report made assessment based on “low greenhouse gas emission scenario” (1.7°C warming) and “very high greenhouse gas emission scenario” (2.4°C warming).
According to the report, climate change-induced heat waves will become an unavoidable hazard and affect every child on Earth.
Around 624 million children are currently exposed to one of the three other high heat measures (high heatwave duration, high heatwave duration, or extreme high temperatures).
Currently, at least 559 million children experience four to five dangerous heat waves each year. This figure is expected to surpass 2 billion by 2050 even if the global temperature is maintained at 1.7°C above the pre-industrial levels (low greenhouse gas emission scenario)
The report highlighted that children are more vulnerable to extreme heat events than adults.
Children in northern regions will experience the most dramatic increase in heat wave severity by 2050.
Nearly 50 per cent of children in Africa and Asia will be continuously exposed to extremely high temperatures.
These heat waves will make it difficult for young people to regulate their body temperature, making them vulnerable to health issues like chronic respiratory conditions, asthma, and cardiovascular diseases.
Extreme atmospheric heat can result in drought, which will cause hurdles in accessing clean drinking water and healthy food.
This, in turn, will result in the stunted development of children and force families to migrate.
To address these issues, the report recommends protecting children from climate crisis by adopting social services, preparing children to live in a climate-changed world, prioritizing children and young people in climate finance and resources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and maintaining the temperature below 1.5°C.