• 1 in 6 experienced unprecedented temperatures in the last year
• Save the Children analysis reveals extreme heatwaves affected the highest number of children in more than two decades.
• Explore the global data with our interactive map

A record 766 million children—one-third of the global child population—were exposed to extreme heatwaves in the twelve months from July 2023 to June 2024, according to new analysis by Save the Children.  

In the same period, 344 million children experienced the highest temperature recorded in their location since at least 1980. 

Children are experiencing more intense and frequent heatwaves because of the climate crisis, putting their health and overall wellbeing at significant risk, the aid agency said. 

Save the Children works to create lasting change with and for children by supporting communities to strengthen their resilience to the climate crisis and calling on world leaders to tackle its root causes.

The data showed that the number of children affected by extreme heatwaves almost doubled from 2022/23 to 2023/24. 

And the latest annual figure was more than 300 million higher than this century’s previous record, set in 2015/16. 

Newly available data showed that in July 2024 alone, 170 million children experienced heatwaves. The same month also saw unprecedented heat globally, including the hottest day ever on record.  

Save the Children analysed satellite imagery of surface temperatures covering every part the world. The aid agency defined an extreme heatwave as three consecutive days experiencing a temperature in the top 1% of all those recorded in that location in the previous 30 years.  

The new briefing describes the impacts of heatwaves on children across the world. These extreme weather conditions are leading to an increase in child hospitalisations, respiratory conditions like asthma, in addition to impacting children’s mental health and overall development. Heatwaves are also worsening existing inequalities and food insecurity.  

In conflict-zones, the compounding effects of heatwaves and humanitarian crises further endanger children already facing precarious circumstances. 

Heatwaves also disrupt education through school closures and decreased learning. In April and May 2024, more than 210 million children missed out on school days due to extreme heat.  In Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, in May at least 26 million children or 52 percent of all the country’s pupils in pre-primary, primary and secondary education missed classes due to extreme heat.  

Sameer, 13, from Sindh province in Pakistan, which recorded 52°C in May 2024, said the sweltering heatwaves led to him and his classmates becoming unwell:  

“We get heat strokes and the children faint. One of my friends, Yasir, collapsed. He got a sudden fever and began to vomit. Then he was quickly taken to the hospital. Because of the intense heat, children get bouts of vomiting, fevers, and dizziness. I have become dizzy several times while sitting at my desk.” 

Sameer attends a Save the Children Child-Friendly Space, which provides critical support during extreme weather events, offering a safe environment to escape the heat and harsh conditions. The centre also delivers sessions on how to stay safe during the intense heatwaves along with educational programs  to create lasting change for children.   

Shruti Agarwal, Senior Adviser on Climate Change and Sustainable Economies said:

“The scale of this crisis is staggering. When nearly a third of the world’s children are exposed to heatwaves, it’s not just a record, but a catastrophe. This is no longer about discomfort, we’re talking about a threat to children’s survival, their education, their future. What we are seeing is an alarming trend where heatwaves are becoming more frequent, more severe and longer lasting, hitting children most impacted by inequality and discrimination the hardest. These heatwaves are not just a weather phenomenon – they're a bleak indicator of our planet's health. 

“The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat. For children, it means growing up in an increasingly uninhabitable planet. And while they are the least responsible for the mess we’re in, they have the most to lose. The time for half measures is long past. World leaders need to show children they will take bold action now.”

The analysis also revealed that from July 2023 to June 2024: 

Regionally: The highest number of children who experienced heatwaves was in South Asia with 213 million, followed by East Asia and Pacific with 129 million and West and Central Africa with 117 million children affected.  

• In Latin America and the Caribbean, and West and Central Africa, the average number of heatwave days more than doubled compared to the previous 12 months. 

Most affected countries: Andorra, San Marino and Albania saw 100% of children affected. In Thailand it was 97.5%, 97.2% in Cambodia, and 88.7% of children in Syria.  

• As the world’s most populous country, India saw the highest number of children experiencing heatwaves, with 170 million (39.5% of total child population), followed by Bangladesh with 38 million (71.5%) and Nigeria with 37 million (33.7%).

Mexico experienced one of the world’s longest heatwaves, lasting 41 days. Carmina, a mother from Acapulco, said: 

“Already, the heat is intense, but in these months with the heatwaves, it has increased tremendously. Our community was surrounded by trees, which gave us a lot of freshness, but the heat was extreme after the hurricane… My daughters, who are already going through the difficult stage of adolescence, add to that the heatwave; they don't want to work, or if they do their schoolwork or chores at home, it becomes more difficult for them because the heat makes it easy for them to get distracted. So, living daily with these heatwaves we're experiencing is harder.”  

In 2022, the UK experienced its hottest day on record, with temperatures reaching 40.3°C in July. In 2022/2023 half of all children in the UK were affected by heatwaves. It was the second largest proportion in Western Europe that year and the UK’s highest in the last 15 years. In the latest 12 months period, the proportion fell to 33.7%. 

Dr Freya Garry, a Met Office Climate Scientist who works on climate resilience, said: 

 “As our climate changes we’re seeing more heatwaves around the world and they’re also becoming more extreme. Heat stress poses a significant risk to human health and it is the most vulnerable, including children, that are the worst affected by these changing extremes. In the UK it is the extremes that are changing fastest, the number of ‘very hot’ days (30°C) have more than trebled since 1961-1990 and this is a trend we expect to continue as our climate warms.

As temperatures across the world increase, heatwaves are growing both in frequency and intensity. July 2024 illustrated this alarming trend with extreme temperatures across continents like Europe, Africa and Asia, triggering severe consequences including sparking wildfires, and exacerbating droughts and health risks.  

World leaders must be willing to take bold action to protect children from heatwaves. Save the Children calls on higher-income countries like the UK to increase their climate funding for lower-income countries which are bearing the burden of a crisis they did not create.  All governments must also commit to phasing out fossil fuels, with historical emitters pledging to put an immediate end to fossil fuel expansion. 

ENDS

We have content available from Pakistan and Mexico below:

https://www.contenthubsavethechildren.org/Package/2O4C2S0KQZNU

Notes to Editor: 

• Save the Children’s study used satellite data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service and global child population estimates from WorldPop, aligned with UN World Population Prospects 2022.  

• For this research, a heatwave is defined as three consecutive days with temperatures above the 99th percentile of the past 30 years for a specific location. Our stringent 99th percentile definition highlights extreme conditions; using a 97th percentile would raise affected children to 1.7 billion, using the reference period of 1991-2020 for the current year.  

• Data includes heatwave records from 2000 onwards and unprecedented temperature spikes compared to 1980-2023 records. 

• More detailed methodological note available on request 

For further enquiries please contact media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409