MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th August, 2023) Seventy-six percent of minors in South Asia are exposed to extreme high temperatures, marking the highest percentage globally, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday,
"South Asia has the highest percentage of children exposed to extreme high temperatures, compared to all other regions, according to a UNICEF analysis. UNICEF estimates that 76 per cent of children under 18 in South Asia - 460 million - are exposed to extreme high temperatures where 83 or more days in a year exceed 35�C (95 degrees Fahrenheit). This means that 3 in 4 children in South Asia are already exposed to extreme high temperature compared to only 1 in 3 children (32 per cent) globally. The analysis is of 2020 data, the latest available," UNICEF said in a statement.
The statement added that 28% of children across South Asia were exposed to 4.5 or more heatwaves per year, compared to 24% worldwide.
"With the world at global boiling, the data clearly show that the lives and well-being of millions of children across South Asia are increasingly threatened by heat waves and high temperatures. Countries in the region are not the hottest in the world right now but the heat here brings life-threatening risks for millions of vulnerable children," UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia Sanjay Wijesekera was quoted as saying in the statement.
The document stated that extreme heat can exacerbate the situation for children in South Asia even in the rainy season because they are unable to adapt quickly to temperature changes. Moreover, heatwaves may cause symptoms and illnesses such as higher body temperature, rapid heartbeat, cramps, severe headache, confusion, organ failure, dehydration, fainting and coma in young children as well as poor mental development, developmental setbacks and cardiovascular diseases in infants, according to UNICEF.
