Children at Risk - 276
When we think of people who suffer from rising temperatures and extreme weather, we often think of the elderly. When I was younger and flew missions in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, the temps in the cockpit were well over 100F. It was a long day of continually chugging water and Gatorade and then changing out sweat-soaked headbands.
I could not handle that heat now. This was a warm summer in the UP and it was all I could handle when working outside.
When looking at the numbers of deaths attributed directly to heat, it is the elderly who are most likely to succumb. And, while the Global South has the most people directly affected by the highest temperatures, heat-related deaths while being significant and tragic, are lower in number.
It was my observation in Dubai and Djibouti that the Indians, Pakistanis, and Blacks could work in much higher temperatures than I could. In Djibouti, Africans worked through the day unloading sacks of concrete under the African Sun. They were covered in white concrete dust stuck to their bodies, sort of Black Face in reverse.
Some people have acclimatized to heat. The white man has not. When the usual mild summers of Europe ignite into heat waves, the toll on lives is staggering. In 2003, the climate death toll in Europe was 70,000. In 2022, it was 61,000. The dead are most often the elderly.
With thick, dark humor, this year's record-breaking heatwave in Europe in early July was named "Cerberus" after the Hounds of Hades. The late July heatwave, called Charon, was named after the ferryman who takes the dead across the river Hades to the underworld. Here, we used to name natural disasters like Hurricanes after women. Now, to be gender-neutral, we include men. Thank the Italian Meteorological Society for the mythological connections to Hell. We should show some courage and imitate the Italians.
In some ways keen observers of climate change are picking up on the trend. Texas, who proudly calls itself the “Lone Star State”, and is a bastion of climate deniers, is often referred to as the “Death Star State”.
But it is the kids I worry about. They are entirely dependent on us, and we are failing them. The recent Washington Post article, (WAPO) "Climate Linked Ills Threaten Humanity," covers the consequences of a world getting too hot. The report is well-researched and pulls no punches. Pakistan is the country in focus. I caution you to only read the WAPO article if you can handle reality.
The flooding in Pakistan made the water unsafe. Medical clinics not washed away in the floods are full of young patients who reach near-death situations due to vomiting and diarrhea. With the flood waters came more mosquitoes, and with them comes more malaria and dengue fever. With burning forests comes more cases of respiratory diseases like asthma. With the heat, pregnant women are more likely to miscarry. With crop failures due to floods and drought, the kids are malnourished. The WAPO article pictures are discomforting.
The August 26th article, "Climate Risks Put Children at Risk," is shorter and less graphic. Dr. Frederica Perera, the Columbia University Center for Children's Environmental Health founder, explained why kids are so vulnerable. Fundamentally, she says, they do not have fully developed biological defense mechanisms.
While medical systems are scrambling to meet the threat, the final sentences in the Science News article sum up the solution, "When we look then at policies and other interventions to reduce and eliminate fossil fuel emissions, we see enormous health and economic benefits. Children will be the greatest beneficiaries."
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