Assessing the Gaps: Developing A Global Child-Specific Climate Risk Index to Safeguard Children’s Health, Education, And Development in A Warming World

The escalating climate crisis presents a fundamental threat to child rights globally, yet current measurement frameworks remain critically insufficient. This research addresses the urgent gap in child-specific climate risk assessment by evaluating the limitations of existing indices and proposing a comprehensive framework for a Global Child-Specific Climate Risk Index. Through a systematic desk review of data from UNICEF, WHO, and peer-reviewed literature published between 2020 and 2025, this study analyses the physiological, developmental, and social vulnerabilities unique to children. Key findings reveal that while over 1 billion children live in extremely high-risk countries, mainstream indices such as ND-GAIN and INFORM primarily focus on economic assets or general population data, failing to capture child-specific nuances. The research highlights multidimensional impacts, documenting how extreme weather disrupts education for millions, exacerbates malnutrition, and drives displacement. The analysis demonstrates that without age-disaggregated data, adaptation policies inadvertently marginalize children. The paper proposes a new multidimensional indicator framework integrating health, education, nutrition, and displacement metrics. It concludes that safeguarding children’s future requires an immediate paradigm shift: the integration of standardized, child-centric climate metrics into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and international disaster risk reduction strategies. This study provides a roadmap for governments and humanitarian organizations to move beyond generic risk assessments toward targeted interventions that protect the most vulnerable demographic in a warming world.

Child-specific climate risk index, climate impacts on children, global climate vulnerability assessment, children’s health and climate change, climate adaptation for child development, climate-induced displacement, child malnutrition and climate

1. American Academy of Pediatrics. (2025). Policy statement: Global climate change and children’s health. Pediatrics. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Ashorn, M., Allen, T., & Guo, J. (2025). Assessing children’s vulnerability to climate change in Small Island Developing States. PLOS Climate, 4(2), e0000789. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Azhar, G., et al. (2021). Heat wave vulnerability mapping for India. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 3390. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Bellizzi, S., et al. (2020). Health consequences of drought in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. Environmental Health, 19(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Dimitrova, A. (2021). Seasonal droughts and the risk of childhood undernutrition in Ethiopia. World Development, 141, 105417. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Early Childhood Development Action Network (ECDAN). (2025). Young children in national climate plans: A global stocktake. ECDAN. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Germanwatch. (2025). Global Climate Risk Index 2025: Who suffers most from extreme weather events? Germanwatch e.V. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Hanna, R., & Oliva, P. (2022). Implications of climate change for children in developing countries. The Future of Children, 26(1), 115-132. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Harvard Center on the Developing Child. (2025). Connecting early childhood development to climate change. Harvard University. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2022). Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Lancet Planetary Health. (2025). Climate change and child wellbeing: A systematic evidence and gap map. The Lancet Planetary Health, 9(3), e102-e115. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Mason, K., et al. (2021). Social vulnerability indicators for flooding in Aotearoa New Zealand. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative. (2024). ND-GAIN Country Index Technical Report. University of Notre Dame. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Pegram, J., & Colon, C. (2020). Are climate change policies child-sensitive? UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Sanson, A. V., & Burke, S. E. L. (2020). Climate change and children: An issue of intergenerational justice. Children's Rights in Health Care, 343-366. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Sehgal, M., et al. (2021). Vulnerability of child health to climate related agricultural productivity threat in India. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 27, 209-210. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Sheffield, P. E., & Landrigan, P. J. (2011). Global climate change and children's health: threats and strategies for prevention. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119(3), 291-298. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. UNDRR. (2023). INFORM Risk Index 2023: Shared evidence for managing crises. United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. UNFCCC. (2024). National Adaptation Plans: Progress in the formulation and implementation. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. UNICEF. (2021). The Climate Crisis is a Child Rights Crisis: Introducing the Children’s Climate Risk Index. UNICEF. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. UNICEF. (2023). Children displaced in a changing climate: Preparing for a future already here. UNICEF. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. UNICEF. (2025). Climate crises disrupted schooling for 242 million children in 2024. UNICEF Press Release. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. UNICEF India. (2021). The impacts of climate change on children in South Asia. UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. United Nations. (2020). Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on Children. United Nations. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Verheyen, C., & Flahault, A. (2023). Climate change and child health: A scoping review. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 224. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. WHO. (2023). Operational framework for building climate resilient health systems. World Health Organization. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. World Bank. (2024). Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty. World Bank Group. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Xu, Z., et al. (2024). Impact of heatwaves on children's health: A systematic review. Clinical Epidemiology, 6, 203-215. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Yu, J., et al. (2021). Geospatial indicators of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to assess neighbourhood variation in vulnerability. Environmental Health, 20(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Zheng, M., et al. (2020). Mapping heat-related risks in northern Jiangxi province of China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Students' Perception Towards Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education in India
• Strategic Leadership and Cybersecurity Readiness in Digitally Transforming Organisations
• Spatial Distribution of Tourism Infrastructure in Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi Urban Areas of Anambra State.
• Emerging Technologies, Education and Skill Development for A Sustainable Blue Economy in Nigeria.
• Quantum Dot–Based Solar Cells: Advancements, Challenges, and Future Prospects