New York, June 16 (QNA) – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that children worldwide are exposed to climate-related risks, urging investment in infrastructure, adaptation and ​disaster management capabilities to reduce their exposure.

Almost all of the world’s children are exposed to at least one climate hazard, with as many as 1.8 billion put in danger ​by droughts and 1.2 billion by extreme heat, the United ‌Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a report on Tuesday. UNICEF emphasized that children are “disproportionately affected” by these risks.

The report looked at a broad range of climate hazards, as well as the impact of air ​pollution and the risks of vector-borne diseases like malaria. It also factored in ​data about access to water, healthcare and social services across the world.

As many as 1.1 billion children globally were exposed to at least three overlapping climate risks, the report ​said, warning of a “dangerous cascade of multiple, overlapping hazards” that could overwhelm governments ​and social services.

The report highlighted that approximately 662 million children were at ​risk from tropical storms, ​337 million from riverine floods, and 33 million from coastal floods, with 1 billion children, mostly in Africa, at risk from malaria. In ​2024, 242 million children in 85 countries saw their schooling ​disrupted by climate hazards.

“It’s not just the exposure to single hazards like floods or droughts ‌or heat waves and extreme heat that children face, but it is the exposure to multiple hazards,” said Rohini Sampoornam Swaminathan, UNICEF statistics manager and one of the authors of the report. (QNA)