Vulnerability of Children health due to climate change
Alex S
Climate change has also effects on health issues. Especially children born today are confronting health problems throughout all their live associated to climate change. For the first time an entire generation is to be defined by the so called “era of climate change”. Appearing health issues are potential lung problems or asthma. Insect-borne diseases are more likely to increase due to global warming and further there is a higher risk of low birth weight and neonatal death. These effects visualize the increasing vulnerability of children’s health connected to climate change. Furthermore, this appears also to a growing number of extreme heat and hot weather events that affect children even more than grown adults. The report analyses these impacts on human health based on 41 indicators and it was researched by more than 100 experts. Global institutions as the world health organization or the world bank took part of this report. The Scientists have also found out that every person on the world suffers in some form the first aftermaths of climate change. As an example, there is mentioned the increasing way of numerous people getting more exposed to extreme heat. This increases mostly the vulnerability of old people and of children because their bodies are not strong enough to cope with the heat. Various cities recognized this affects on the public health and started to invest in climate risk assessment. Yet the health care costs are often left out in climate change debates these costs are increasing. Again, children of today are the set out to most vulnerability as they will be confronted with very high health-related costs throughout their lives. The report expects costs of billions of dollars. Vulnerability depends on physical exposure and socio-economic development what makes children a very vulnerable group.
The report recommends solutions as putting a price on carbon emissions or transitioning to cleaner transportation fuels. Furthermore, it is important to invest more into adaptation in health and health care.