By Abbas Nazil
More than one billion children worldwide are currently exposed to at least three overlapping climate-related hazards, according to a new UNICEF report that highlights the escalating impact of climate change on child wellbeing across different regions of the world.
The United Nations agency said it analysed population data for approximately 2.4 billion children globally and mapped it against eight major climate hazards, including coastal flooding, river flooding, drought, tropical storms, heat waves, extreme heat, wildfires and sandstorms.
The report found that around 1.1 billion children are exposed to at least three of these risks, with the most common combination being drought, extreme heat and recurring heat waves.
UNICEF noted that this combination alone affects approximately 296 million children, including an estimated 74 million in Nigeria, 34 million in Pakistan and 32 million in India, underscoring the global scale of vulnerability.
The findings also revealed that nearly all children worldwide, about 2.3 billion, are exposed to at least one climate hazard, while 2 billion face at least two, and about 364 million are exposed to four or more hazards.
At the most extreme end of the scale, approximately 123,000 children are exposed to seven or more climate risks, with around 46,000 of them located in Myanmar.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell emphasised that children are disproportionately affected by climate change, warning that they are increasingly at the forefront of its impacts.
The report showed that exposure has increased significantly over the past two decades, reflecting worsening climate conditions and expanding geographical reach of environmental hazards.
Researchers behind the study explained that while climate risks are widespread, they are not evenly distributed across the globe, with clear regional hotspots emerging.
Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia were identified as the most affected regions, particularly countries with large child populations such as Bangladesh, India, Nigeria and Pakistan, where millions face multiple climate threats simultaneously.
The report also highlighted that in relative terms, several countries in the Sahel region of Sub-Saharan Africa experience some of the highest proportions of children exposed to at least three climate hazards.
In Chad, for example, more than 95 per cent of children are exposed to at least three climate risks, placing the country among the most severely affected globally due to compounding environmental and socio-economic challenges.
UNICEF researchers also noted that 39 small island states are highly vulnerable due to limited freshwater resources, dependence on imports and reduced capacity to recover quickly from extreme weather events such as hurricanes.
Despite the widespread nature of climate exposure, the report stressed that no country is completely free from risk, although some regions in the Northern Hemisphere experience comparatively lower levels of exposure to the eight assessed hazards.
Experts cautioned that even areas with lower exposure in this study may still face other climate-related threats not included in the analysis, such as glacier melt, permafrost thawing and other long-term environmental changes.
UNICEF called for urgent global action to address the growing threat, warning that without stronger climate adaptation and mitigation measures, millions more children could face worsening conditions in the coming years as climate impacts intensify worldwide.
