Explore this page: How Climate Change Impacts Children's Health | How To Protect Children | Our Climate Change Programs
Children’s bodies are not built to handle extremes – too much heat, pollution or stress can have dire consequences on their growth and development. Unfortunately, our rapidly changing and warming climate is leading us to a future at the extremes. Our children will experience worse air pollution and more, intense heatwaves and flooding. We all need to be proactive and vigilant to protect children’s health from the impacts of climate change.
How will climate change impact children’s health?
Climate change makes bad situations worse.
- Does your neighborhood have poor air quality? Increased heat leads to more ground level ozone and smog. Smog is an outdoor air pollutant that can increase asthma and lung disease.
- Does your child have asthma? Climate change will worsen common asthma triggers, such as heatwaves, pollen, and pollution.
- Is your community battling for environmental justice? Neighborhoods that have historically been burdened with contamination and environmental hazards bear the brunt of climate catastrophes.
- Does your community flood during heavy storms? Flooding will increase and redistribute contaminated soil in urban industrialized areas with lead and toxic chemicals.
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Flooding: Flood exposure may lead to greater rates of home damage and loss, drowning, stress and mental health impacts, and exposures to waterborne pathogens and mold.
Extreme heat: Extreme heat exposure can impair learning and cognition; sleep; mental health; kidney, liver, and respiratory function. It may increase emergency department visits and incidences of preterm birth and low birth weight, heat stroke, and death.
Infectious Disease: Climate change may expand the ranges and active-season lengths of insects and ticks that carry vector-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease.
Air Quality: Climate-driven changes to PM 2.5, ozone, dust, and wildfire smoke may increase emergency department visits, new asthmas cases, general respiratory illnesses, and preterm birth and low birth weight.
Seasonality: Changes to seasons may increase exposure to aeroallergens like pollen, leading to higher rates of seasonal allergies and asthmas. These changes may affect opportunities for outdoor recreation and play.
Info from EPA Climate Change Report
For our children and pregnant people, researchers predict the highest health risk will be related to extreme heat and increased air pollution and flooding.
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Extreme Heat
A heat wave is a period of unusually hot weather that typically lasts two or more days.1 According to the EPA, “Heat waves are occurring more often than they used to in major cities across the US. Their frequency has increased steadily, from an average of two heat waves per year during the 1960s to six per year during the 2010s and 2020s.” Cities in our region, like Philadelphia and Chester, often have more concrete and asphalt than grass, leading to urban heat islands that disproportionately effect communities of color and the poor.
Air Pollution and Asthma
Even without climate change, air pollution and asthma are already two of the biggest environmental health threats to our region’s children. We have 3x more cases of asthma than the national average. With climate change, more children will experience asthma attacks and poor air quality:
- Earlier spring and longer summers could increase the amount and type of pollen, leading to more asthma triggers
- More frequent wildfires in US and Canadian forests will blow dangerous air into our cities. That air can contain particulate matter, dust, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.
- Hotter cities means more ozone and urban smog that damages lung function.
- More emergency department visits, asthma diagnoses, and “preterm birth, low birth weight, and birth defects are associated with in utero exposure”.3
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Flooding
When we think of the dangers of flooding, we often think of the short-term dangers: drowning and property loss. But floods also have long-term health effects that are particularly bad for children. Floods bring water to places it doesn’t belong, and with that water often comes contaminants and toxic chemicals. Floodwaters can carry with them lead, chemicals, endocrine disruptors and bacteria.
After a flood, homes become extremely vulnerable to mold growth, especially if areas are not fully dried within 72 hours. Mold is a common asthma trigger and it can irritate a child’s eyes, skin and lungs.
How Do I Protect My Children?
Our Climate Change Programs
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Free Tools to Manage Stormwater
Are you interested in replacing an empty front yard with a garden? Need to fix a cracked rear…
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Report Mold Growth in Philadelphia
If you are a tenant and see mold growth in your home, you can report this to the city by calling 311.
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What to Do in a Flood
Visit the City of Philadelphia’s webpage on what to do in case a flood hits your area.
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Free Peco Energy Check Up
Receive free energy saving items and a house energy check up for income eligible households.
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Beat the Heat Hunting Park
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