The effects of climate change on children in Dushanbe

In Tajikistan, heatwaves with temperatures consistently above 40 degrees in summer are taking their toll on 2.5 million children, who are particularly vulnerable to water shortages. Almost a third of the country’s population is under 15 years of age; according to scientists’ data, they will have to cope with increasingly extreme temperatures throughout their lives.

Dushanbe (AsiaNews) – The effects of climate change are being felt particularly keenly in Central Asia; 2.5 million children in Tajikistan are facing heatwaves, and 2.7 million are suffering from water shortages, as documented in a report by Asia Plus, which tells their stories. Takhmina is 13 years old and lives in Dushanbe.

Last summer, when temperatures remained above 40 degrees for a long time, her usual trip to the supermarket to buy bread ended with a visit to the doctor and a forced break of several days.

“I just remember it being incredibly hot, with nowhere to take shelter; the sun was burning my neck. Then I felt ill, I felt dizzy and lost consciousness. Passers-by helped me; they shielded me from the sun and gave me water to drink, then they took me home. My mum, of course, was very frightened and called the doctor,” says Takhmina, who, fortunately, did not suffer any serious consequences.

Sadly, this may not be the last such incident: today’s children and those who will be born in the coming years will be exposed not only to extreme heatwaves but also to other climate-related disasters, far more frequently than their grandparents were.

According to projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if the global average temperature rises by 1.5 °C by 2100, the younger generation will be exposed to extreme events almost four times as often. Meanwhile, the world has already warmed by around 1.1 °C since the start of the industrial era, and children are a particularly vulnerable group, as their bodies and immune systems are still developing, making them more susceptible to disease, heat, air pollution and other impacts of climate change.

“Our youngest children, especially in poor countries, are increasingly facing the risk of forced migration, loss of access to education and rising poverty. The impacts of climate change on children can have long-term effects on their physical and mental health,” says Kai Asbjørn Schjørlien, senior adviser at Save the Children Norway. According to UNICEF, around one billion children worldwide are at extremely high risk due to the climate crisis.

“Children are heavily dependent on adults for their safety and access to clean water, food and medical care. Increasingly frequent extreme events are destroying homes, schools, nurseries and other infrastructure essential to their wellbeing,” explains Anton Timošenko, executive director of the environmental organisation Little Earth.

“I am outraged that we will have to face all these problems and live in more difficult conditions because leaders have been unable or unwilling to tackle them seriously for decades. Blaming children for their inaction is unfair!”, says Tsarina (16) from Khorug.

“Sometimes I’m overcome by a sense of despair and disappointment, because nothing changes. Conferences, meetings and negotiations are held, but no significant results are achieved and the situation doesn’t improve. Is it really possible that adults don’t care about what will happen to those who come after them?”, asks Aliya, also 16, from Dushanbe.

“Our city has a dry climate, but in recent years it has become particularly hot. Summer temperatures consistently exceed 40 degrees, and the water shortage has become even more acute. Ever since I was little, I’ve had to go and fetch water instead of sitting down to do my homework, and all this has a direct impact on a child’s life and development,” says Shakhzoda, 17, from Buston.

Tajikistan has the youngest and fastest-growing population in the whole of Europe and Central Asia: almost a third of its inhabitants are under 15. Around a third of the republic’s current population is likely to live to see the end of the 21st century, and will face a world in which extreme heat, natural disasters, water scarcity and epidemics of infectious diseases could become the new normal.

• Tajikistan
• climate
• children