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Climate change has displaced 43.1m children in six years

Just last week, UNICEF published a harrowing report highlighting the impacts of surging global temperatures and increasingly frequent extreme weather events on the victims most vulnerable to these unforgiving conditions between 2016 and 2021.

Already vulnerable youth have become unwitting victims of a crisis they did not cause.

This is according to UNICEF, which just last week published a harrowing report highlighting that climate change has displaced 43.1m children in six years.

Between 2016 and 2021, the world has witnessed an alarming increase in extreme weather events brought on by surging global temperatures.

From hurricanes and floods to droughts and wildfires, these disasters have destroyed homes, disrupted livelihoods, and continue to present children with real and tangible threats to their safety.

As this intensifies, UNICEF has revealed the alarming rate at which displacement is occurring simultaneously.

It reports that, on average, 20,000 youth have been displaced due to climate-related factors every day for the past six years.

Spearheading this is India and China, which – a result of their huge, combined populations – has recorded the highest numbers of child displacement at 3.9m and 3.7m respectively. As a whole, close to 20m children have been displaced from Asia.

In Africa, 19.7m children have been displaced by floods, with South Sudan and Somalia taking the lead.

Across the globe, wildfires have driven approximately 800,000 children away from their homes, with the US accounting for over three quarters of this total figure.

UNICEF cites children’s lack of physical and emotional resilience, as well as their dependence on communities for protection and support as the reason behind their intense vulnerability.

Those forced to flee their homes when these systems are affected by climate change face a multitude of challenges, including the inability to access food or clean water, and a greater risk of catching diseases.

The trauma of displacement can also bring about long-lasting mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Additionally, an estimated 70 per cent of displaced children have missed out on schooling.

For many, this interference with their education looks to be indefinite, robbing them of the opportunity to escape the cycle of poverty and build a better future for themselves.

Warning that floods have the potential to displace some 96m children within the next three decades (based on current data), cyclonic winds some 10.3m, and storm surges some 7.2m, UNICEF’s statistics put more than 113m children at risk of climate-related displacement by 2053.

On the back of this, the organisation – a chief international advocate for youth’s rights and wellbeing – is recommending a slew of proactive steps to address the situation before it’s exacerbated even further.

First, it’s pushing for stronger policies and investments in resilience-building measures to protect children from the crisis’ worst consequences.

This includes the promotion of renewable energy sources, climate-resilient infrastructure, and disaster-preparedness programmes.

Second, it’s urging governments to prepare youth for the outcomes of climate change with awareness programmes and their inclusion in decision-making so they are better equipped to deal with catastrophes when they arise.

UNICEF stresses, however, that more urgent solutions are necessary not only for the sake of displaced children, but for the future of the Earth and generations to come.

It’s therefore calling on anyone involved in the upcoming COP28 summit to come together and confront this growing problem with the attention it most certainly deserves.

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