Kathmandu, November 6, 2026 - Millions of children across Nepal are growing up amid escalating climate, environmental and disaster risks, with air pollution, drought, extreme heat and landslides increasingly threatening their health, nutrition, education and future opportunities, according to a new UNICEF advocacy brief.
The report, titled Growing Up in a Climate Hotspot: The Risks Shaping the Lives and Futures of Nepal’s Children, highlights the growing vulnerability of children to overlapping climate hazards and calls for urgent investment in child-responsive climate policies, adaptation measures and essential public services.
According to the UNICEF findings, approximately 9.9 million children in Nepal are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution, making it one of the most widespread environmental threats to children's wellbeing. Similarly, 7.3 million children are exposed to drought, threatening water security, agricultural production, livelihoods and food and nutrition security.
The report further reveals that 5.7 million children face exposure to extreme hot days, increasing risks to their health, physical wellbeing and ability to learn. In addition, approximately 2.9 million children are exposed to rainfall-triggered landslides, while an estimated 2.4 million face multiple high-intensity climate hazards simultaneously, increasing their vulnerability and making recovery more difficult.
Climate Crisis Deepening Existing Vulnerabilities
The UNICEF brief emphasizes that climate change is not only increasing children's exposure to environmental hazards but also placing additional pressure on essential services that support their survival and development.
Despite Nepal's development progress, significant challenges remain. Only 47.5 per cent of the population has access to safely managed drinking water. One in four children under five is stunted, while 22 per cent of children live in multidimensional poverty.
Climate-related disasters and environmental pressures are also increasing the risks of child labour, child marriage, disease outbreaks and disruptions to education, further threatening the rights and development opportunities of vulnerable children.
The impacts are not equally distributed. Children living in poverty, girls, children with disabilities, historically marginalised communities and those residing in remote and climate-vulnerable areas face disproportionately greater risks, often with fewer resources to prepare for, respond to and recover from climate-related disasters.
“The climate crisis is increasingly becoming a child rights crisis,” said Alice Akunga, UNICEF Representative to Nepal.
She highlighted the injustice that children have contributed least to climate change but are among those bearing its greatest consequences. Floods, droughts, heatwaves and air pollution threaten children's health, nutrition, education and protection.
UNICEF Calls for Child-Centred Climate Investment Ahead of COP31
Ahead of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Türkiye, UNICEF Nepal is urging the Government of Nepal, development partners, climate finance institutions and the private sector to place children's rights and needs at the centre of climate policies, financing and adaptation programmes.
The organisation has called for increased investment in climate-resilient healthcare, nutrition, drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, education, child protection and social protection systems.
It has also emphasised the importance of integrating children's needs into national and subnational climate policies, adaptation plans, disaster risk reduction strategies and climate financing frameworks.
UNICEF further recommends using child-focused and disaggregated climate-risk data to guide investment and prioritise communities facing the greatest vulnerabilities. The private sector has also been encouraged to support climate-resilient infrastructure, clean energy solutions and innovations that safeguard children's wellbeing.
Equally important is ensuring that children and young people have meaningful opportunities to participate in climate decision-making at local, national and international levels.
Nepal Endorses Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action
In a significant step towards strengthening child- and youth-responsive climate governance, the Government of Nepal formally endorsed the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action during the National Climate Summit held on October 29, 2026.
Launched at COP25, the global declaration has been endorsed by 78 countries to date. It calls on governments to advance climate action that recognises the rights, needs and contributions of children and young people.
The signed declaration is expected to be formally handed over to UNICEF representatives at COP31 in Türkiye, highlighting Nepal's commitment to strengthening children's participation in climate policy and decision-making.
UNICEF Nepal Youth Advocate for Climate Action Jayanti Bam also stressed that climate change is already affecting children's everyday lives, particularly when floods and other disasters damage schools and disrupt education, friendships, routines and children's sense of security.
She called on decision-makers to invest in climate-resilient schools and essential services while providing young people with meaningful opportunities to influence decisions shaping their future.
Putting Children at the Centre of Climate Justice
The UNICEF findings carry an important message for Nepal and the international community: climate action must go beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting ecosystems; it must also safeguard the rights, health, education and future of the next generation.
For a climate-vulnerable country like Nepal, strengthening climate-resilient schools, healthcare facilities, water systems, early warning mechanisms and child protection services is essential to protecting millions of children from increasingly severe environmental risks.
As world leaders prepare to gather at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, the growing exposure of Nepal's children to climate hazards underscores the need for stronger international climate cooperation, accessible adaptation finance and investment in locally responsive solutions.
Children should not simply be recognised as victims of the climate crisis. Their voices, rights and participation must become an integral part of climate policies and solutions.
Climate action must protect the generation that will inherit the consequences of today's decisions.
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Published Date 2026-11-06 10:05:00
