Our Burning Planet

 At least 559 million children worldwide are already exposed to frequent heatwaves—a number that could hit 2.02 billion by 2050, according to a UNICEF report—The Coldest Year of The Rest of Their Lives: Protecting Children From the Escalating Impacts of Heatwaves. 

 The report calls on world leaders to reduce the threat of heatwaves—or any period of at least three consecutive days when the maximum temperature is in the top 10% of the local 15-day average—by ambitiously increasing action to limit global temperature rise.

In addition to high frequency—an average of 4.5 or more heatwaves per year—the report warns of the rising threat of extreme high temperatures, or at least 83.54 days that top 35°C (95°F), as well as events that are high in duration, meaning they last 4.7 days or longer, and severity, which is when the temperatures are 2°C (3.6°F) or more above the local 15-day average.

624 million children are currently exposed to one of the other three high heat measures—a scenario that UNICEF says will worsen over the next three decades.

"The mercury is rising and so are the impacts on children," said Catherine Russell, UNICEF's executive director, in a statement. "Already, 1 in 3 children live in countries that face extreme high temperatures and almost 1 in 4 children are exposed to high heatwave frequency, and it is only going to get worse. More children will be impacted by longer, hotter, and more frequent heatwaves over the next 30 years, threatening their health and well-being." 

"Children in northern regions will face the most dramatic increases in high heatwave severity while by 2050, nearly half of all children in Africa and Asia will face sustained exposure to extreme high temperatures," the document states, highlighting that "almost every country is experiencing changing heatwaves."

Vanessa Nakate, a young Ugandan climate activist, explained, "The climate shocks of 2022 provided a strong wake-up call about the increasing danger hurtling towards us. Heatwaves are a clear example. As hot as this year has been in almost every corner of the world, it will likely be the coldest year of the rest of our lives."

She continued, "The dial is being turned up on our planet and yet our world leaders haven't begun to sweat. The only option is for us to continue to turn up the heat—on them—to correct the course we are on," She went on to warn, "Unless they take action, and soon this report makes it clear that heatwaves will become even harsher than they are already destined to be."

2 Billion Kids to Face Extreme Heatwave Threat by 2050, Warns UNICEF (commondreams.org)