Climate change poses serious risks to children's health globally and in Sri Lanka. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and sea level rise are exacerbating health issues like diarrheal diseases, respiratory illnesses, and dengue. Sri Lankan children are especially vulnerable due to increased heat, floods, droughts, and growth of vector-borne diseases. The government has created adaptation strategies but more needs to be done to strengthen disaster response, disease surveillance, nutrition, and build climate resilience in children. Mitigation through carbon emission reduction on a global scale can help limit future health impacts.

1. Climate
Change & the
Health of our
Children
Prof. Dulanie Gunasekera
University of Sri Jayawardenapura

2. Climate Change
“A change of climate that is attributed directly or indirectly to
human activity, that alters the composition of the global
atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability
observed over comparable periods of time.”*
* Article 1 United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, 1992
** Lancet series

3. Mechanism of GHG

4. Mechanics of CC
Global warming – green house effect

5. Green House Gases
 CO2- major component
 Methane – 20 times potent as CO2- (main
source- cattle)
 N2O(agriculture)
 Industrial gases – HFC, PFC, SF6

6. Global GHG emissions
Source – IPCC 2007
Distribution of GHG’s Sources of GHG’s

7. Changes
 Global warming: Ambient Temp. rise
 Melting ice cap: Sea level rise/coastal
flooding
 Extreme Weather events – cyclones
floods
droughts
 Poor air quality
 Ozone layer destruction –solar
irradiation(UV)

8. Global changes

9. Change in World Temperature

10. Why Worry?
 Affects us more – island nations
 Low/mid income countries
 Vulnerable populations – poor, old,children
 150,000 deaths (globally) – 88% children*(2000)
(*Sheffield & Landrigan – Env. Health Perspectives -
March 2000)

12. CC in Sri Lanka

13. Average Temp Trend- SL

14. Trend of Temp Changes - SL
 Projected increases

15. Rainfall-Sri Lanka
 Rainfall Variability
 Increasing Dry Days – dry zone
 Single Day High Rainfall – wet zone

16. Extreme Weather Events
 Increasing Flooding/ earth slips – wet zone
 Low/ missed seasonal rains – longer
drought in dry zone
 Cyclones
 Sea – storm surges

18. Sea Level Rise - SL
Source – SL met. Dept

19. Sea level rise-SL
 Coastal erosion - at 0.5m/yr
 Rate of accretion – 0.2m/yr
 Sea water intrusion → destruction of fresh
water resources / fresh water life
eg. Muturajawela wetlands

20. Why children?
 Larger surface area
 Less heat adaptive mechanisms
 Consume more food & water/Kg body wt.
 Longer life span
 In utero period – vulnerable to environ.
toxins
 No decision making powers

22. Effects of CC on children

23. Direct Effects- Temperature Rise
 High Temperature - heat stroke
 Urban “Heat Island” Effect – raises temp by 5C
 temp rise > 20C: each 2C → 2.6% increase in
mortality in children (Brazil)*
*chapter 8- population dynamics and climate
change – UNFPA

24. Direct Effects - Extreme Events
 Floods/ landslides
 Cyclones
 Drought
Results –
 Death/Injury,
 loss of lively hood, lack of food / water
→ forced migration, poverty, conflict

25. Indirect Effects
Increase in -
 Water borne diseases
 vector borne diseases
 Respiratory diseases (wheezing)
 Lung/skin cancer
 Psychological social problems – mental
health

26. Diarrheal & other GI Diseases
Higher
Mortality
Floods/Droughts
Poor Quality
of Water
Higher
Temperatures
*Protecting health from cc: Connecting science, WHO 2009
**Water supply, sanitation and hygiene Sanitation Report Series,
No. 1. World Bank, Washington

27. Vector Borne Diseases
 Dengue- depends on rainfall variations
(2013/4 Worst DHF epidemic-?)
Major mortality < 25 yrs
 Leptospirosis

28. Poor Air Quality- Air pollution
High temperatures – increased aero
allergens → ↑ resp problems eg. BA
 Study @ LRH:
↑ particulate matter (PM10) in air* :↑Wheezing
*Senanayake MP et al: SL Journal of Child Health, 2001; 30: 66-8

29. Indoor Air Pollution
 Reduced/costly fossil fuel → increase use of biofuel →
indoor & outdoor air pollution
 Biofuel burning → indoor air pollution → inc. in wheezing
 50% deaths from ALRI (U-5 age) → due to indoor air
pollution*
 Study: Galle: Chandhigar **:
kerosene: gas cooking → wheezing X2 more in Galle
* WHO fact sheet 292(2009)
**Mistry R, wickremasinghe N et al:Eur J Pediatr 2004, 163(3):145-147

31. Mitigation/Adaptation - SL
 The National CC Policy of Sri Lanka
Goal – mitigation/adaptation to CC
 The Research Program on CC-
Agriculture and Food Security (CGIAR)
- influence the CC policy in Sri Lanka
- Raised awareness about the implications
cc
(source : www.unhabitat.lk/downloads)

32. Mitigation/Adaptation - SL
 The Ministry of Environment
“ Sri Lanka Climate Change Adaptation
Strategy 2011-2016”
 Disaster Management Centre (DMC)
 Mitigation, Research and Development
division
 Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) - Early
Warning Dissemination for natural disasters
 “Climatenet” - Institute of Policy Studies, Sri
Lanka – networking CC Policy in Sri Lanka
(source: http://www.ips.lk/climatenet/index.html)

33. Adaptation – need to
 Disaster preparedness & management - DMC
 Disease surveillance /Mx– diarrhoea
resp diseases
vector borne diseases
 strengthen epidemic management – DHF
 Improve nutrition – routine supplementation
emergency food supply
control food prices – in disasters

35. Source: UNICEF Innocenti Research center

36. Mitigation/Adaptation

37. Mitigation/Adaptation-Global
 Ratification of UNFCCC* -1994- prevent harmful
changes to climate
 Kyoto Protocol- 1997- Carbon emission reduction
targets- 5% by 2012, 18% by 2020 –
“Carbon Trading”
 Warsaw 2013 – universal agreement on CC(2015)
*United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

39. Change in climatic zones

40. Population Affected by Nat.
Disasters- SL