Children at receiving end of climate change: Experts

Kolkata: From environmental pollution, rising temperatures, increasing incidents of extreme climate events, changes in rainfall patterns, and biodiversity loss, climate change is taking a toll on children's health. While climate change impacts the health of all, cutting across age barriers, doctors said children whose immunity is yet to mature are very vulnerable.On Thursday, during a meet organised by Unicef in association with KMC, experts spoke about concerns regarding health impact of climate change on children.
"Recent assessment indicates that one in every two children in our city suffers from some form of respiratory disorder triggered by air pollution," said Ranita Sengupta, CMHO, KMC.The health impact of climate change on children is not restricted to respiratory or allergic illness, but includes vector-borne diseases, water-borne ailments, developmental delays, and mental health issues. Experts said climate change can impact a child right from the womb, causing pre-term birth, low birth weight, or stillbirth."In Kolkata, there is a temperature rise of 2.7° over the past six decades. An estimated 3.4 lakh children in Kolkata are at acute health risk due to the combined impact of air pollution and climate change. Globally, infants are experiencing a 450% rise in heat exposure. Kolkata and Bengal are no exception to this trend," said Monjur Hossain, Unicef chief, West Bengal.Doctors said an immature immune system makes children highly vulnerable.The most vulnerable are those up to the age of 5.Unicef health specialist Vandana Bhatia spoke about pregnant women exposed to environmental risks and how this could impact the health of the foetus, and linked effects on children's IQ levels to climate change. "When children inhale pollutants, it can affect the growth of their lungs, causing low lung function," said pulmonologist Arup Haldar."Among my patients around 10 to 15% are children with respiratory issues," said pulmonologist Raja Dhar.