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Kids are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, new report says.
Divya Shiv
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Children are especially susceptible to the effects of climate change, including extreme heat, said Divya Shiv, the author of a recent report from New Mexico Voices for Children.
According to the report, food insecurity, extreme heat and poor air quality disproportionately affect children鈥檚 physical and mental well-being.
鈥淲hen we think about climate change, we don鈥檛 always think about how it impacts the specific people in our lives,鈥� Shiv said. 鈥淎nd children are especially vulnerable to the consequences of climate change.鈥�
Children spend more time outdoors, increasing their exposure to poor air quality and intense heat, Shiv said. Because their bodies and immune systems are still developing, they are less able to regulate their body temperatures. And supply chain disruptions due to intense weather events can raise food prices, exposing more children to food insecurity.
鈥淩ising temperatures, droughts and floods have huge impacts on food chains 鈥� which then impact the amount of food, the quality of food and increases the prices of food,鈥� Shiv said. 鈥淎ll of that makes it harder to access healthy, nutritious food 鈥� in a state where 21% of children already have limited access to food.鈥�
Karen Armitage, president of the New Mexico Pediatric Society, says people living at one end of the cycle of life 鈥� the young and the elderly 鈥� are particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors.
鈥淭he thing that is special about children is that they鈥檙e at one end of the cycle of life,鈥� Armitage said. 鈥�... They are not little adults; they鈥檙e actually special. And what鈥檚 special about them is that they are growing and developing every minute of every day.鈥�
In New Mexico, kids are exposed to several such stressors. One in four kids live in poverty, Armitage said. Four in five women giving birth in the state qualify for Medicaid 鈥� meaning the mother has some limits on her ability to get health insurance, she continued.
On top of that, add on a week of over 100-degree days, and already burdened families and schools can be overwhelmed, Armitage said.
According to Feeding America, one in seven New Mexicans faces hunger. It鈥檚 worse for children; one in five children are food insecure.
Sonya Warwick, a communications specialist for Roadrunner Food Bank, said anecdotally, she鈥檚 seen more people coming to food banks for the first time in their lives. For some families, it can mean the choice between fresh produce and calorie-dense, high-protein foods. For others, it could mean the choice between eating or getting healthcare.
鈥淲e continue to face higher costs around the board,鈥� Warwick said. 鈥淎ll of those contributing factors definitely impact children and families.鈥�
The impacts of climate change can be seen around the nation. Although New Mexico is not uniquely affected by changing weather patterns, the state faces some additional challenges, Armitage said.
鈥淥ur state is like other states 鈥� except we鈥檙e at the bottom of the barrel on child welfare,鈥� Armitage said.
That exacerbates some of the effects, Armitage said. There are also environmental factors; she added that in general, cities seem to be more prepared for extreme cold rather than extreme heat. New Mexico faces both high heat and difficulties in procuring water.
鈥淲here water gets difficult, energy may not be available to cool all the buildings,鈥� Armitage said. 鈥淵ou start to see infrastructure becoming unstable, and all those things contribute to making it harder for families and communities and schools to be there and do what they need to do for kids.鈥�
