EPA Releases Report Showing Health Impacts of Climate Change on Children in the United
WASHINGTON — The signs of climate change are all around us, and children are uniquely vulnerable to its impacts. Climate change-related impacts in childhood can have lifelong consequences due to effects on learning, physical health, and housing security. A new national-scale, multi-sector EPA report showcases some of the ways children are especially vulnerable to a variety of health effects from climate change due to physical, cognitive, behavioral, and social factors.
This peer-reviewed report quantifies projected health effects associated with extreme heat, air quality, changing seasons, flooding, and infectious diseases. Where possible, the analyses consider the extent to which health effects disproportionately fall on children who are Black, Indigenous and people of color [BIPOC], low income, without health insurance, and/or have limited English proficiency.
“Understanding health risks to children is critical for developing effective and equitable strategies that will protect…
