Climate Change and Environmental Pollution Induced Risks on Children's Health: Are Pediatricians Prepared to Meet the Challenge?

Increasing research and scientific evidence have highlighted strong links between climate change, environmental pollution, and adverse health effects in humans. In 2009, the report by The Lancet and University College London Institute for Global Health Commission emphasized climate change as the biggest threat to the survival of humanity and warned that its effects on health will affect most populations during the following decades, putting the lives and wellbeing of billions at increased risk. More recently, a policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the AAP technical report on global climate change and children's health stressed that children, particularly those belonging to lower socioeconomic status, are at higher risk of developing diseases for which climate change may be directly or indirectly responsible. The potential health effects of climate change and their related negative events, which plagued the world's population during recent years, have been extensively studied. These include disasters because of extreme weather events and heat waves, the increase in zoonosis, respiratory diseases due to air pollutants and aeroallergens water scarcity, and low nutritional quality of food. Moreover, a recent review suggested that a link between climate change and mental health conditions cannot be ignored, as mental disorders represent one of the major common noncommunicable diseases. The European societies of pediatrics are highly concerned about the influence of climate change and environmental pollution on child health. This article, authored by the working group on social pediatrics of the European Paediatric Association/Union of National European Paediatric Societies and Associations (EPA/UNEPSA), briefly discusses the important health impacts of climate change and its relevance to children. Our aim is to further raise the awareness of pediatricians and public health authorities on this key issue for the future of children's health and propose key areas for action.