When a pediatrician in Phoenix saw three toddlers hospitalized for severe burns from playground equipment in a single summer week, it wasn't just bad luck. The metal slides had reached 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Welcome to pediatric medicine in the age of climate change.

Why Kids Bear the Brunt

Children aren't just small adults. Their bodies work differently in ways that make climate change particularly dangerous for them.

Start with breathing. Kids breathe faster than adults, pulling in more air relative to their body size. When that air contains wildfire smoke or ground-level ozone, they're getting a bigger dose of toxins. About 5 million U.S. children already have asthma—roughly one in every 14 kids under 18. Climate change is making their condition worse.

Then there's behavior. Children spend more time outdoors than adults. They play sports in the heat. They swim more, swallowing about twice as much water as adults do. That matters when warming waters harbor more bacteria and contaminants.

Perhaps most sobering: many children born today will still be alive in 2100, when climate models predict the crisis will peak. They'll carry this burden their entire lives.

The Air They Breathe

Air quality has become a pediatric emergency. Ground-level ozone and particulate matter—both worsened by climate change—trigger asthma attacks and respiratory problems in children. But it's not just pollution from cars and factories.

Climate change extends pollen seasons and increases pollen production. Trees and grasses bloom earlier and longer. For kids with allergies or asthma, this means more months of symptoms, more missed school days, and more emergency room visits.

Wildfires add another layer of danger. Smoke can travel hundreds of miles, affecting children who live nowhere near the flames. Their developing lungs are particularly vulnerable to the fine particles in wildfire smoke.

When the Heat Becomes Dangerous

About 9,000 U.S. high school athletes get treated for heat illnesses each year. That number is climbing as temperatures rise and heat waves intensify.

Young children and infants face different risks. Their bodies can't regulate temperature as efficiently as adults. They heat up faster and cool down slower. In 2023, infants experienced a record 13.8 days of heatwave exposure per person on average—the same as adults over 65.

The dangers extend beyond sports fields. Playgrounds become hazardous when equipment heats to skin-burning temperatures. Urban heat islands—where concrete and asphalt absorb and radiate heat—turn neighborhoods into ovens. Low-income communities often have fewer trees and parks, making these areas even hotter.

The Invisible Wounds

About 75% of young people report climate anxiety. That's not teenage melodrama—it's a rational response to an existential threat.

The numbers vary by geography and vulnerability. In the Philippines, 84% of youth say they're extremely or very worried about climate change. In India, it's 68%. Even in countries less immediately threatened, like Finland and the U.S., nearly half of young people express serious concern.

Around 80% of young people feel that older generations have failed to protect the planet. That's a heavy psychological burden for developing minds.

Then there are the direct mental health impacts of climate disasters. Children who experience hurricanes, floods, or wildfires can develop post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression. Researchers have identified a condition called "solastalgia"—distress caused by environmental change in one's home environment. It's eco-anxiety with roots in real loss.

At least 43 million children have been displaced by extreme weather events over the past six years. Displacement disrupts education, separates families, and creates trauma that can last for years.

Diseases on the Move

Mosquitoes are expanding their territory. As temperatures warm, disease-carrying insects move into areas where they couldn't survive before.

The climatic suitability for dengue transmission increased by 46% for one mosquito species and 11% for another between the 1950s and the 2010s. That means millions more children are now at risk for this potentially deadly disease.

Other vector-borne diseases are following similar patterns. Ticks carrying Lyme disease are moving northward and to higher elevations. Regions that never worried about these illnesses now need to.

Waterborne diseases are also increasing. Warming waters allow bacteria and parasites to thrive. Flooding contaminates water supplies. Children, who play in water and have less developed immune systems, are especially vulnerable.

Food, Water, and Basic Security

In 2023, 48% of global land area experienced at least one month of extreme drought. That's the second-highest level since 1951.

Drought means crop failures. Crop failures mean malnutrition. Children need proper nutrition for physical and cognitive development. Climate-driven food insecurity can cause lasting developmental harm.

Water scarcity forces families to use unsafe water sources. Children suffer the consequences through diarrheal diseases and other waterborne illnesses. In some regions, girls miss school because they spend hours each day fetching water.

The crisis hits poorest countries hardest, even though they contribute least to global emissions. This inequity means children in vulnerable regions face compounding disadvantages.

What Pediatricians Are Doing

The medical community is waking up to this crisis. Research publications on climate change and child health have quadrupled in recent years—333 articles from 2019 to 2024 compared to just 75 from 2003 to 2018.

The American Academy of Pediatrics was the first major medical society to release a policy statement on climate change and children's health. They updated it in 2024, emphasizing that pediatricians must become advocates and educators.

A January 2026 study in Pediatric Research argues that pediatricians and pediatric researchers must play a critical role in addressing the climate crisis. The paper calls for integrating climate considerations into routine pediatric care.

Some pediatricians now screen for climate-related health risks. They ask about home cooling, air quality, and flood risk. They educate families about heat safety and air pollution. They advocate for policies that protect children's health.

The Policy Gap

Despite growing awareness, children remain largely invisible in climate policy. An analysis of 160 countries found that many don't consider children a specific risk group in their climate adaptation plans.

In 2023, researchers published over 4,000 articles on climate adaptation and mitigation. Only 17% addressed health aspects. Even fewer focused specifically on children.

This gap matters. Policies designed for adults don't protect children adequately. Heat advisories based on adult physiology underestimate risks for kids. Air quality standards don't account for children's faster breathing rates. Disaster response plans often overlook children's developmental needs.

Looking Forward

The children facing burned feet on playground slides and breathing wildfire smoke didn't create this crisis. Yet they'll live with its consequences longer than anyone else.

Their unique vulnerabilities—faster breathing, more outdoor time, developing bodies and brains, dependence on adults—make them the canaries in our climate coal mine. When we see rising rates of heat illness in young athletes, increasing asthma hospitalizations, and widespread climate anxiety in teenagers, we're seeing early warning signs of a deepening crisis.

The good news is that protecting children from climate change offers co-benefits. Cleaner air helps everyone breathe easier. Cooler cities with more green space improve quality of life for all ages. Stable food and water systems benefit entire communities.

Children also represent hope. Today's young people are demanding action with a moral clarity that adults often lack. They understand what's at stake because they'll inherit what we leave behind.

The question isn't whether climate change affects children's health. The evidence is overwhelming. The question is whether we'll treat this as the pediatric emergency it is.