Nearly every child in India is now growing up under overlapping climate threats. According to UNICEF, 97% of children in India — about 411.62 million — are exposed to at least two climate or disaster-related hazards such as drought, extreme heat, floods, tropical storms, wildfires, and dust storms. More than 234 million children face at least three such hazards, putting their health, food, water, education and safety at serious risk.
Drought and extreme heat are the most common combined threat, affecting more than 158.8 million children. More than 410 million children live in drought-exposed areas. Around 155.7 million are exposed to tropical storms, 89.3 million to heatwaves, and 66.9 million to riverine floods. Air pollution adds another brutal layer, with nearly 421 million children exposed to unhealthy air.
This is not merely a future warning. Climate disruption is already closing schools, damaging homes, worsening malnutrition, increasing disease risks, and attacking the most basic rights of children. A society that allows fossil fuel-driven climate breakdown to endanger almost every child has failed morally and politically. India urgently needs child-centred climate adaptation, resilient schools, secure water systems, disaster preparedness, social protection, and rapid emission cuts.
