WHAT’S CLIMATE CHANGE DOING TO OUR KIDS’ HEALTH? By Maureen Frost When I daydream about what the future holds for my one-year-old and three-yearold children, I’m filled with happiness at all the good to come. I pull from memories of my childhood—long beach days, plenty of competitive sports, and lifelong friendships that start before you can read. Yet, it’s already clear that their childhood will be vastly different from mine. Joyous, I hope, but under the thumb of a changing climate, no doubt. They don’t know it yet, but extreme weather will become commonplace in their lives, as we increasingly see now. In our little corner of the world on the southern coast of New Jersey, we’ve had to shelter in place for the first time in my memory under threats of tornados, something I never did as a child. We see a seasonal cycle of beach erosion, not necessarily new, but more menacing and pervasive now. I’ve lived through Hurricane Sandy, seen family members lose their homes, and heard of fish swimming in my cousin’s flooded school. Yet things are still relatively calm here compared to other areas of the globe. No matter where you live, climate change will affect our kids’ lives, if it hasn’t already. According to a report from UNICEF, The Climate Crisis is a Child Rights Crisis, one billion kids are at an extremely high risk from climate change and that number is likely to rise. (You can read the full report here.)
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Health risks are a major concern. The ripple effects may influence their ability to be active, worsen some chronic conditions, and could hinder their mental health, just to name a few. Yet, we can help protect them, continue to work towards evading the worst-case scenarios of climate change, and adapt to a new normal. When it all feels overwhelming, knowing what risks they face is a good place to start.
Why Climate Change Has a Greater Effect on Kids’ Health As researchers at Harvard Chan C-CHANGE who focus on the effects of climate change on kids put it, “Kids are not little adults.” Children are in a constant state of development and growth—this includes their immune systems, organs, brain, and even maturity— leaving them more vulnerable to adverse effects from negative events. For example, the team noted, “They breathe at a faster rate, increasing their exposure to
