LONDON/GENEVA, 12 August 2026 – About 26 million children in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe Union lived in areas that experienced unusually high carbon emissions over the past month, with millions remaining exposed as fires continue to burn, said Save the Children.
Hot, dry weather, supercharged by climate change, fueled hundreds of fires near densely populated cities and towns between early July and early August. During this period, about 15 million children lived in areas deemed to have “extremely unusual” levels of carbon emissions compared with the average for the same period between 2003 and 2025, while a further 11 million lived in areas where levels were much higher than normal [1].
While air pollution affects everyone, children are among the most vulnerable because their bodies, organs and immune systems are still not fully developed, said Save the Children. Children absorb more pollutants than adults as they tend to breathe faster, with fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, associated with premature deaths in the general population. In addition, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), PM2.5 can cause and worsen diseases of the lungs, brain and skin, and has also been linked to cognitive impairment and memory loss.
A report by Save the Children and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel last year found that 1.5 million children could be spared the consequences of experiencing unprecedented lifetime exposure to wildfires if warming is limited to 1.5 degrees celsius. [2]
Zainab, 16, a Save the Children Youth Advisor from London, said:
"For many people, particularly those living with chronic illnesses, this heat is not simply uncomfortable, it is dangerous. You cannot call extreme heat “unprecedented” every year and continue responding as though it is unexpected. I have lived with Type 1 diabetes for most of my life. When temperatures rise, managing my health becomes harder. Climate change does not affect everyone equally, when the temperature rises, inequality rises with it."
Spain, one of the countries worst affected by wildfires this summer, has seen wildfires burn 245,870 hectares of land so far in 2026, 158% above the 20-year average.
Carmela del Moral, Head of Child Policy at Save the Children Spain, said:
"Every major wildfire disrupts the lives of thousands of children. Many are forced to leave their homes, summer camps, or vacation spots at a moment's notice, facing situations of uncertainty, fear, and stress. Protecting them must also be part of the response to climate emergencies.”
In addition to the wildfire exposure, two thirds of children across Western Europe and three in every four children in the UK were exposed to extreme heatwaves in first half of 2026, according to data from Save the Children.[3]
Shruti Agarwal, Senior Adviser for Climate Change and Sustainable Economies at Save the Children UK, said:
“Poor air quality as a result of wildfires is hurting children who are exposed to these dangerous levels of smoke. Wildfires and poor air quality, not to mention extreme heat, are reshaping how children across the world are experiencing summers.
It disrupts their routine and forces some children to play indoors. What’s worse is the immediate and longer-term health impacts that inhaling smoke or bad air can have on children whose bodies are still developing. Studies also show that exposure to wildfires affects children’s mental health and well-being. The wildfires that we have seen around the world this summer are no longer isolated events. They are a stark reminder of the threat climate change poses to children's lives and futures everywhere.
It is vital that we see a rapid and equitable fossil fuel phase-out to safeguard children from the escalating impacts of the climate crisis.”
Save the Children calls on the UK Government to protect children’s rights by showing credible climate leadership at home and abroad. Policies such as fossil fuel expansion are incompatible with the UK’s international commitment to the temperature goal of 1.5° C and pose significant risks on children's health and wellbeing.
Save the Children is calling on all countries, including the UK, to strengthen the resilience of essential services critical for children’s development and wellbeing in the face of the climate emergency.
Save the Children is working with partners and communities in the UK to help prepare children and families in the event of extreme weather, with a particular focus on low-income families who we know are being hit the hardest by climate change.
ENDS
References:
[1] Based on the Copernicus Wildfire Emissions watch available here, which classifies the level of carbon emissions from wildfires as either lower than normal, typical, higher, much higher or extremely unusual compared to historical average for that area between 2003 (when Copernicus began tracking this) and 2025.
Child population data is taken from Eurostat (for Europe), the Office of National Statistics (UK), Census.gov (USA) and Government of Canada.
Save the Children assessed the data shared by Copernicus between early July and early August, and calculated the number of children living in the areas judged where the level of carbon emissions were deemed “extremely unusual” compared to the average for the same period between 2003 and 2025.
[2] Born into the Climate Crisis, Save the Children and Vrije Universiteit Brussel
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