Heatwaves in East Asia and the Pacific could pose a significant threat to millions of children, warned the United Nations on Thursday. With global monitors already predicting that 2024 is set to be the hottest year on record, the UN has called for immediate action to protect vulnerable people from rising temperatures and climate extremes. UNICEF reported that over 243 million children in the Pacific and East Asia region were at risk of heat-related illnesses and death due to the increasing frequency of heatwaves. With the temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius, several countries in the region are currently grappling with the summer heat. The UN has projected that over two billion children could be exposed to heatwaves by 2050 if the current trend continues.
The impact of heat waves and high humidity levels, which are common in the region, can have a deadly effect as the heat hinders the body’s natural cooling mechanisms. Children are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of climate change, and excess heat is a potentially lethal threat to them, according to Debora Comini, the Director of the UNICEF Regional Office for East Asia and the Pacific. Children are less able to regulate their body temperature, making them more susceptible to heat-related illnesses and death. The UN has warned that immediate action is required to protect children and vulnerable communities from the worsening heatwaves and other climate shocks.
Several countries in the region are already feeling the impact of heat waves. In the Philippines, some schools suspended in-person classes in April, with weather forecasters predicting temperatures could reach a “danger” level of 42 or 43 degrees Celsius in parts of the country. In Thailand, a temperature of 43.5 degrees Celsius was recorded earlier this week, just a few degrees shy of the record 44.6 degrees Celsius. The Thai Ministry of Health reports that around 40 people die from heat-related illnesses annually. In February, Vietnam experienced a monster heatwave in its southern “rice bowl,” with temperatures reaching up to 38 degrees Celsius, which was an “abnormal” high for the period.
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