Far too many children parched

Children are suffering extreme water vulnerability, leaving their lives, health, and well-being at risk. It is one of the key drivers of deaths among children under 5 from preventable diseases, it said. The report shows that those most affected live in low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Southern Asia, and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia

Geneva: One in three children, or 739 million worldwide, already live in areas exposed to high or very high water scarcity, with climate change threatening to make this worse, according to a new Unicef report. According to findings of the report -- titled ‘The Climate Changed Child’ -- the greatest share of children are exposed in the Middle East and North Africa and South Asia regions, meaning they live in places with limited water resources and high levels of seasonal and interannual variability, ground water table decline or drought risk

The report also provides an analysis of the impacts of three tiers of water security globally -- water scarcity, water vulnerability, and water stress.

Far too many children – 436 million – are facing the double burden of high or very high water scarcity and low or very low drinking water service levels – known as extreme water vulnerability, leaving their lives, health, and well-being at risk. It is one of the key drivers of deaths among children under 5 from preventable diseases, it said. The report shows that those most affected live in low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Southern Asia, and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia.

In 2022, 436 million children were living in areas facing extreme water vulnerability. Some of the most impacted countries include Niger, Jordan, Burkina Faso, Yemen, Chad, and Namibia, where eight out of 10 children are exposed. “The consequences of climate change are devastating for children,” said Unicef Executive Director Catherine Russell.

“Their bodies and minds are uniquely vulnerable to polluted air, poor nutrition and extreme heat. Not only is their world changing – with water sources drying up and terrifying weather events becoming stronger and more frequent – so too is their well-being as climate change affects their mental and physical health. “Children are demanding change, but their needs are far too often relegated to the sidelines,” she added.

The report outlines other ways in which children bear the brunt of the impacts of the climate crisis, including disease, air pollution, and extreme weather events such as floods and droughts.

From conception until adulthood, the health and development of children’s brains, lungs, immune systems and other critical functions are affected by the environment they grow up in. According to the report, children are more likely to suffer from air pollution than adults.

Generally, they breathe faster than adults and their brains, lungs and other organs are still developing. The report was released ahead of the COP28 climate change summit, beginning in the United Arab Emirates on November 30.

Between two and three billion people experience water shortages for at least one month per year, posing severe risks to livelihoods, notably through food security and access to electricity. The global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to double from 930 million in 2016 to 1.7–2.4 billion people in 2050. The growing incidence of extreme and prolonged droughts is also stressing ecosystems, with dire consequences for both plant and animal species.

Many of the water systems that keep ecosystems thriving and feed a growing human population have become stressed. Rivers, lakes and aquifers are drying up or becoming too polluted to use. More than half the world’s wetlands have disappeared. Agriculture consumes more water than any other source and wastes much of that through inefficiencies. Climate change is altering patterns of weather and water around the world, causing shortages and droughts in some areas and floods in others. At the current consumption rate, this situation will only get worse. By 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages. And ecosystems around the world will suffer even more, according to worldwildlife.org.

Water covers 70% of our planet, and it is easy to think that it will always be plentiful. However, freshwater—the stuff we drink, bathe in, irrigate our farm fields with—is incredibly rare. Only 3% of the world’s water is fresh water, and two-thirds of that is tucked away in frozen glaciers or otherwise unavailable for our use.