Why in the news
UNICEF published a fresh global assessment of how climate and environmental hazards threaten children. India emerged among the most exposed countries, particularly to heat.
Key facts
- Report: Children’s Climate Risk Report (CCRR) 2026, released 16 June 2026 by UNICEF through UNICEF Innocenti, Florence; Executive Director Catherine Russell.
- Data base: UNICEF’s Global Child Hazard Database; the first global assessment since the 2021 report “Climate Crisis is a Child Rights Crisis”.
- Heat in India: about 392 million children (92%) exposed to extreme heat; 89 million face recurrent heatwaves.
- Overall score: India 9.21/10, third highest in South Asia.
| Hazard (India) | Score out of 10 |
|---|
| Extreme heat | 10 (maximum) |
| Air pollution | 9.94 |
| Drought | 8.84 |
| South Asia overall score | Value |
|---|
| Pakistan | 9.44 |
| Bangladesh | 9.38 |
| India | 9.21 |
Global findings
- 1.5 billion children exposed to heatwaves; 1.2 billion to extreme heat; 1.8 billion to droughts.
- 662 million in tropical-storm areas; 337 million in riverine flood areas; 33 million exposed to coastal floods.
- 2.3 billion live where air quality is unhealthy; 1 billion are exposed to malaria.
- India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nigeria are among the worst hit because of large child populations and high exposure.
How the report works
- Eight primary hazards: coastal floods, droughts, extreme heat, fires, heatwaves, riverine floods, sand and dust storms, tropical storms.
- Two climate-sensitive hazards: air pollution and vector-borne disease (malaria).
- Seven vulnerability dimensions: WASH, nutrition, protection, health, education, poverty, child survival.
- Unlike the 2021 report (country-level index, six dimensions, India ranked 26th of 163), the new one uses finer sub-national data.
About UNICEF
- Set up in 1946 after the Second World War; based in New York; research arm is UNICEF Innocenti in Florence.
- Funded by voluntary contributions; Catherine Russell has led it since February 2022.
Exam angle
- Publisher: UNICEF; report abbreviation CCRR.
- India’s overall score: 9.21/10.
- Number of hazards: eight primary plus two climate-sensitive.