Kids and Climate Health Zone
Babies, children, and adolescents — from conception to 21 years old — are more vulnerable than adults to climate-change stressors. This includes extreme heat, waterborne and foodborne diseases, and mental health impacts. Changing climate conditions, public health emergencies, and disasters can compound and affect children’s safety and environmental health.
The Kids and Climate Health Zone features information found in the United States Global Change Research Program's Fifth National Climate Assessment, UNICEF's A Threat to Progress: Confronting the Effects of Climate Change on Child Health and Well-Being report, and other published literature.
From child health professionals to children themselves, users can navigate the Kids and Climate Health Zone by clicking on the black and white pin icons to read stories and learn how to protect children throughout the United States from the impacts of climate change.
Children and Climate Change: Learn How to Take Action to Protect Kids
- Extreme Weather and Preschool-Aged Children: Read the story about a child's mental health is impacted by extreme weather.
- Food Availability and Toddlers: Read the story about a toddler in a subsistence fishing community gets food sick.
- Food Safety and Toddlers: Read the story about a toddler's food safety is impacted by power outages.
- Food Security and Young Children: Read the story about an island-bound family struggles with food insecurity.
- Heat and Pregnancy: Read the story about a pregnant woman copes with high temperatures.
- Heat and Teenage Athletes: Read the story about a teenager experiences heat stroke during practice.
- Mold Exposure and Respiratory Conditions in Young Children: Read the story about a child's respiratory illness is triggered by mold.
- Private Wells and Drinking Water Safety and Infants: Read the story about a baby experiences Blue Baby Syndrome.
- Sea Level Rise and Adolescents: Read the story about a pre-teen struggles mentally after coastal relocation.
- Tick-borne Illness and School-Aged Children: Read the story about a school-aged child gets Lyme disease.
- Water Contamination and Young Children: Read the story about a child gets diarrhea following heavy rains.
- Wildfire Smoke and Pregnancy: Read the story about a pregnant woman worries about the impact of wildfire smoke on her and baby.