A recent report by UNICEF sheds light on the future of India’s children. The child population is expected to decline from 420 million to 350 million by 2050. However, as the report suggests, these declines will be coupled with growing and severe vulnerabilities triggered by climate change. In the saddening future for the children of India, there will be rising temperatures, more serious flooding, worsening air pollution, and socio-economic inequalities. Hence, there is an urgent need for the government and the people working under children’s welfare to ensure the future of India’s youth.
The report warns that children will face brutal casualties, especially those who reside in rural and poor areas. The increased heat waves in the upcoming future will lead to more dehydration, heatstrokes, and a cut in agricultural harvests, which would leave the rural areas in worse condition as farming in those areas is the primary source of income. Flooding, another major issue, will cause millions to be displaced. Studies have indicated that climate-related displacements increase the vulnerability of children and also other people to diseases like diarrhoea, malaria, and dengue fever. Floods also disrupt schooling and the attendance of students, which will definitely worsen the already fragile education system in India, limiting opportunities for these children to grow out of poverty and make a better living for themselves in the future. One of the main reasons for these unfortunate facts is that air pollution is turning out to become an invisible yet deadly threat. Many of the most polluted cities of the world exist in India like Delhi, and children with developing lungs are especially vulnerable to respiratory diseases, developmental delays, and cognitive impairment caused by long-term exposure to chemical-filled pollution
This fact is taken into consideration by the vicious cycle that connects climate change with socio-economic inequalities. Poorer communities have limited capacities to acquire or deliver a response to climate impacts, such as relocating or accessing health care, and are hence, more vulnerable to loss. In turn, these vulnerabilities don’t allow families in cycles of poverty to leave the vicious cycle of poverty. Hence, children in urban slums spend their entire lives in tremendously overcrowded, polluted environments without clean water, sanitation and quality healthcare. The idea of urban locations being obvious opportunities is problematic when these centres that claim to provide jobs, education and training cannot easily give the underprivileged a comfortable future for the betterment of society. At the same time, climate-occasioned drought migrates to cities through rural-to-urban migration, which worsens the living situation for many and adds to the economic problem of unlimited wants and limited resources.
Even though advancements in technology can help eliminate these challenges, they actually add more challenges to the economy of India. With India being a highly populated nation, automation and artificial intelligence threaten to displace millions of jobs in sectors where low-income families typically work, like the primary sector. Without proactive measures to train children for the digital economy, economic inequality could worsen, leaving millions unprepared for the future job market, further leading to severe unemployment in the future. However, technology can also offer opportunities to educate and empower children about climate combats and how to face them. For instance, mobile apps and e-learning platforms could reach children in rural areas. Teaching them sustainable farming methods or raising awareness about environmental health could help in more efficient use of raw resources in the future when they reach the working age.
Since India’s children make up 15% of the world’s child population, their future plays a heavy role in the global future. The UNICEF report is a call to policymakers, educators, and communities to build a world better for the next generation, and not be stopped by obstacles like climate change.
Written by Ratisha Khare
