Children’s Vulnerability to Environmental Exposures: Extreme Weather

Oct 14m 2010

Source: NIH

National Library of Medicine

National Center for Biotechnology Information

Photo Source: Unsplash

Extreme storm events, increased extreme heat, and sea level rise

Health impacts on children from projected increases in frequency and severity of extreme storm events and sea level rise that result from global warming include acute injuries, chronic mental illness, food insecurity issues, food and water contamination, and potential wide-scale population displacement. All of these topics have been examined extensively in previous review articles (Akachi et al. 2009; Bunyavanich et al. 2003; Canadian Institute of Child Health 2001; Ebi and Paulson 2007; Shea et al. 2007; United Nations Children’s Fund 2007; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2009). One additional study demonstrated that, during the 2006 heat wave in California, 0- to 4-year-old children had increased emergency department visits for electrolyte imbalances compared with periods without heat waves, an increase that was essentially the same as for older children and adults [relative risk (RR), 1.19 vs. 1.18] (Knowlton et al. 2009). Although the risk of heat-related deaths among children in the United States is lower than the risk among the elderly, it is still higher than the general population (Moore et al. 2002).

In the 1990s, disasters affected 66.5 million children around the world (Penrose and Takaki 2006). Estimates for the future range as high as 175 million children per year (Save the Children UK 2007). Extreme storms such Hurricane Katrina in the United States highlight the specific challenges posed by the pediatric population even in countries with significant public health capacity (Johnston and Redlener 2006). An additional impact is that of climate-forced migration leading to climate-change refugees. This forced migration or population displacement is expected to affect health, economic development, and political instability, perpetuating cycles of poverty and civil unrest that already contribute substantially to the global burden of human disease (Confalonieri et al. 2007) and impede environmental justice.

There are also potentially subclinical effects from extreme heat events. The impacts include decreased functioning and diminished productivity (Kjellstrom et al. 2009). Although heat can potentially affect cognitive performance, we found limited studies, such as Dapi et al. (2010), quantifying the cognitive effects of increased heat on student learning and performance in schools that are not climate controlled.

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