As global monitors warn that 2024 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record, marked by climate extremes and rising greenhouse gas emissions, the United Nations has warned that massive heat waves across East Asia and the Pacific could place millions of children at risk, and called for action to protect vulnerable people from soaring temperatures.
UNICEF data showed that over 243 million children across the Pacific and East Asia were estimated to be affected by heat waves, putting them at risk of heat related illnesses and death.
The Philippines is among several countries in the region currently smoldering in the summer heat, with temperatures nearing record levels, regularly hitting beyond 40 degrees Celsius, and forecasters predicting even steeper rises in the coming weeks.
The country’s schools have suspended in person classes for most of April, with the state forecaster saying temperatures could reach the “danger” level of 42 or 43 degrees Celsius in parts of the country.
According to the UNICEF report, children are more at risk than adults as they are less able to regulate their body temperature. It said heat waves and high humidity levels, which are commonly experienced in the region, can have a deadly effect as the heat will “hinder the body’s natural cooling mechanisms.”
“We must be on high alert this summer to protect children and vulnerable communities from worsening heat waves and other climate shocks,” said Debora Comini, director of UNICEF Regional Office for East Asia and the Pacific.
The UN projects that over 2 billion children are expected to be exposed to heat waves by 2050.
With the dry season seemingly at its peak, classes all over the country have already been canceled or shifted to alternate modalities because of the intense heat in recent weeks. With the school year still not close from being over, a lot of protections and policies will have to be considered and added if we are to protect our children from the ever-present dangers of extreme heat during this time of year.
Whether we change the scheduling of the academic year, or retrofit schools to be more comfortable for students when the mercury rises, and focus more on an information drive for parents and children to be aware of the dangers of the heat, or all of the above, that is for our government to decide. What is important is something is done, as future hot and dry seasons are only expected to get worse as humanity fails in its bid to slow down the devastating effects of global warming and climate change.*
