1 bln children exposed to three or more climate risks: UNICEF
Palestinian children play in the village of Beitin, northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, on June 14, 2026. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
More than 1 billion children face at least three overlapping climate hazards, UNICEF warned on June 15, while highlighting the disproportionate impact in some regions of the world.
For the report, the U.N. agency cross-referenced data showing where the roughly 2.4 billion children on the planet live with the geographic distribution of the eight most common climate impacts. They are coastal flooding, river flooding, drought, tropical storms, heat waves, at least three days above a high temperature threshold, which varies by country, extreme heat, wildfires and sandstorms.
The report primarily focuses on the 1.1 billion children who are exposed to at least three risks, with the most common combination being drought, extreme heat (above 35 degrees Celsius) and heat waves.
