Because of their developing body systems, young children are less able than adults to adapt to heat and other climate-related conditions – both physiologically and metabolically.  Because of their developing immune systems, they are at a greater risk of getting diseases and dying from them. They are also more likely to be killed or injured during climate change related events and disasters.

¹UNICEF. Children’s Vulnerability to Climate Change and Disaster Impacts in East Asia and the Pacific. 2011. https://www.unicef.org/environment/files/Climate_Change_Regional_Report_14_Nov_final.pdf-accessed July 24, 2017.