Over 460 million or 75% of kids in South Asia, one of many world’s most densely populated areas, face dangers associated to excessive warmth yearly, in accordance with the U.N. youngsters’s company.
Children on this area are most affected by excessive warmth than wherever else on the earth, in accordance with the report, revealed on Monday.
“This means that 3 in 4 children in South Asia are already exposed to extremely high temperature compared to only 1 in 3 children (32%) globally,” mentioned a UNICEF assertion.
The areas affected are these the place temperatures climb above 35 levels Celsius (95 levels Fahrenheit) for greater than 83 days a 12 months on common.
“With the world at global boiling, the data clearly show that the lives and well-being of millions of children across South Asia are increasingly threatened by heat waves and high temperatures,” mentioned Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF’s South Asia regional director.
The U.N. warned that youngsters in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives and Pakistan are at “extremely high risk” of the impacts of local weather change.
“We are particularly concerned about babies, toddlers, malnourished children and pregnant women as they are most vulnerable to heat strokes and other serious effects,” he mentioned.
Children are far more in danger from excessive climate, as their our bodies are much less in a position to deal with warmth than these of adults. UNICEF cited a quick heartbeat, complications, organ failure and fainting as penalties.
“Young children simply cannot handle the heat,” added Wijesekera. “Unless we act now, these children will continue to bear the brunt of more frequent and more severe heatwaves in the coming years.”
In the southern Pakistani province of Sindh, which was hit by catastrophic floods a 12 months in the past, greater than 800,000 youngsters had been vulnerable to excessive warmth in June 2023.
“For young children, ice packs, fans or misting with water can help lower their body temperature, while cold water immersion can help older children,” suggested UNICEF.
About 1.2 levels Celsius of worldwide warming for the reason that late 1800s, pushed by the burning of fossil fuels, has made heatwaves hotter, longer and extra frequent, in addition to intensifying different climate extremes corresponding to storms and floods.
July was the most popular month ever recorded globally, with searing warmth intensified by world warming affecting tens of thousands and thousands of individuals in components of Europe, Asia and North America.
Scientists say the world might want to adapt to the warmth and different impacts already attributable to emissions – and that carbon air pollution have to be slashed dramatically this decade to keep away from worse sooner or later.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
