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Climate change and impacts
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Article
Preserving Glaciers Urgent for Children
A fast-moving threat, Globally, glaciers are melting at a pace that is anything but, well, glacial. In the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountain ranges of South Asia, the pace is even faster than the global average. Experts estimate that 80 per cent of the region’s glaciers will disappear by the start of the...
Press release
Nearly a quarter of a billion children’s schooling was disrupted by climate crises in 2024 – UNICEF
NEW YORK, 24 January 2025 , – At least 242 million students in 85 countries had their schooling disrupted by extreme climate events in 2024, including heatwaves, tropical cyclones, storms, floods, and droughts, exacerbating an existing learning crisis, according to a new UNICEF analysis released today. For the fir...
Blog post
Children at the table: A success or a grand failure?
I attended a session at this year’s COP, in Baku, which focused on children and young people. The room overflowed with people—children, youth, and adults of all ages- who were gathered at the Baku stadium, concerned about the future of humanity. The generations to come will live on a planet that feels increasingl...
Statement
Statement from UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell at the conclusion of COP29
NEW YORK, 24 November 2024 - , "UNICEF stands ready to work with governments, partners, and the private sector to ensure that the new $300 billion climate finance target agreed today at COP29 is met, and that it is followed by concrete climate action – action which is desperately needed by the world’s 2.4 billion ...
News note
FAST FACTS: Climate Crisis impact on children expected to worsen in South Asia by 2050
NEW DELHI, 20 November 2024 , — Escalating climate and environmental crises, particularly affecting children, are part of alarming projections for South Asia by 2050, according to UNICEF’s flagship report released on World Children’s Day today. The State of the World’s Children 2024: The Future of Childhood in a C...
Press release
Four times as many South Asian children could be exposed to extreme heatwaves in the 2050s - UNICEF
NEW DELHI, 20 November 2024 , – Climate and environmental crises are projected to become even more widespread in South Asia, with four times as many children exposed to extreme heatwaves, according to a new UNICEF analysis released today. In the decade of 2050-2059, twice as many children in South Asia are project...
Press release
Pakistan commits to protect children and young people from the impacts of climate change at COP29
BAKU, 16 November 2024, –, , The Government of Pakistan, along with the Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Governments affirmed their commitment to protect the rights and interests of children and young people in the face of climate change at an event with UNICEF at the COP 29 Summit in ...
Article
Why children must be at the heart of national climate plans
A regional emergency?, The 659 million young people aged 18 and under in South Asia inherited a climate crisis not of their making. Practically, this means that each one of them is affected by at least one climate-related hazard, shock, or stress. This includes heatwaves that cause schools to close, droughts that ...
Press release
South Asian youth delegates at COP 29 urge urgent climate action to protect their future
NEW DELHI, 11 November 2024, : As the climate crisis intensifies, 20 determined youth delegates from South Asia will urge world leaders to take immediate steps to mitigate the effects of climate change on children and youth at the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29) in Baku, Azerbaijan from 11...
Statement
Over 11 million children under 5 in peril as they breathe toxic air in Punjab, Pakistan, UNICEF warns
ISLAMABAD, 11 November 2024, –, , “As smog continues to persist in Punjab province, I am extremely concerned about the well-being of young children who are forced to breathe polluted, toxic air. Over 11 million children under 5 years of age are exposed to this smog in the worst affected districts. Air pollution l...
Press release
An alarming rate of blood lead levels among children: UNICEF urges the Interim Government for a strategy for a lead-free Bangladesh
DHAKA 5 November 2024, - With a commitment to end the debilitating and life-threatening effects on children of lead poisoning, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), jointly with UNICEF, organized a national workshop today, marking the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. The wor...
Press release
Young Maldivians urge governments to protect children from devastating impacts of climate change
MALE, , Maldives, 10 October 2024 , – In a resounding call to governments globally, 26 young people from Maldives urged decision-makers to increase efforts to protect children from the devastating impacts of climate change at a COP 29 event in Male today. Maldives is one of the world's lowest-lying countries, with...