UNICEF sounds the alarm

Every 5th child: Twice as many hot days as grandma

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/stephm2506)

According to a study by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), one in five children worldwide now lives in an area where there are at least twice as many extremely hot days as in the 1960s. According to the UNICEF analysis published on Wednesday, the number of days with temperatures of more than 35 degrees Celsius in the homes of 466 million children worldwide is now twice as high as in the childhood days of their grandparents.

According to the study, in West and Central Africa alone, 123 million children - or 39 percent - now experience temperatures of over 35 degrees Celsius on average in a third of the year. In Mali, Niger, Senegal and Sudan, more than half of the children are affected.

According to the analysis, a further 48 million children in Latin America and the Caribbean live in areas with more than twice as many hot days as in the 1960s. According to UNICEF, aggregated temperature data served as the basis for the study.

Mental health also affected
"Extreme heat is on the rise, affecting children's health, well-being and daily lives," explained UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. Stress caused by extremely high temperatures is associated with complications during pregnancy, but also increases the risk of heat stroke or sunstroke. There is also evidence that heat has an impact on the neurological development and mental health of children.

Russell called on governments to act quickly. The heads of state and government, who will have to present new national climate protection plans in the coming months as part of the Paris Agreement, could "do so with the ambition and knowledge that the children of today and future generations will have to live in the world they leave behind".