2023-08-07 06:41:50
According to a report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), around 460 million minors are threatened by extreme heat in South Asia every year. In a global comparison, children in South Asian countries are most affected by extreme heat, the organization said in a report published on Monday. Accordingly, three quarters of all children in South Asia are at risk.
Areas affected are those where the average temperature rises above 35 degrees on more than 83 days per year. Children are much more at risk from extreme weather because their bodies are less able to cope with the heat than adults. As a result, UNICEF named a faster heartbeat, headaches, organ failure and fainting.
“The data clearly shows that the lives and well-being of millions of children in South Asia are increasingly threatened by heat waves and high temperatures,” said South Asia Director Sanjay Wijesekera in a statement. “We are particularly concerned regarding babies, young children, malnourished children and pregnant women.”
As an example, UNICEF cites the southern Pakistani province of Sindh, which was hit by catastrophic floods a year ago. In those areas, more than 800,000 children were at risk of extreme heat in June 2023. During the summer 2022 monsoon season, rainfall temporarily submerged a third of Pakistan. More than 1,700 people lost their lives. The disaster was followed by a humanitarian crisis. According to a World Bank report, around 33 million people were affected.
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