Climate change makes children more vulnerable to infections

Several global reports have proved that young people are especially more worried about climate change and a new study suggests that they have more than a couple of good reasons to be alarmed.

A study of children under 16 years of age has found that climate problems account for 9 to 18 per cent of total infectious diseases affecting kids in Varanasi.

Estimates suggest that children bear the heaviest burden of disease due to climate change and this may be particularly high in a country like India, ranked high on climate vulnerability risk.

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Published in Science of the Total Environment, the study followed a cohort of 461 children over a three-year follow-up period. It was found that common cold and flu and gastrointestinal infection (mainly diarrhoea) account for 78 per cent of the disease burden.

The highest risk was observed in children with physiological vulnerabilities, with the poorest being the worst affected. The findings urge policymakers to prioritise child health to prevent an increased disease burden due to climate change in the future.

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