Climate Change and Children’s Health: The Growing Environmental Crisis Affecting NYC Families in 2025

As New York City faces increasingly extreme weather patterns, from record-breaking heat waves to severe storms, parents are grappling with a new reality: the climate crisis is a child health crisis. What many families don’t realize is that children under 5 may bear as much as 88% of the global burden of disease from climate change, making this one of the most pressing health challenges of our time.

The evidence is clear and concerning. From 2007 to 2023, children in the U.S. were 80% more likely to die from ages 1 to 19 than their peers in other high-income countries, and climate-related factors are increasingly contributing to this troubling trend. For NYC families, understanding these risks and taking protective action has never been more critical.

Why Children Are More Vulnerable to Climate Change

Children’s bodies are developing physically, which can make them more vulnerable to climate-related hazards like heat and poor air quality. Unlike adults, children tend to spend more time outdoors than adults, increasing their exposure to heat and cold, rain and snow, outdoor allergens, and insect bites. Additionally, children drink more water than adults per pound of body weight, which can increase their exposure to environmental contaminants.

The physiological differences don’t stop there. Children are disproportionately affected because they are uniquely vulnerable to environmental hazards compared to adults. The interplay of physiological, psychosocial and behavioural factors and dependence on caregivers renders children more susceptible to the detrimental health impacts of climate change.

Climate Health Impacts Affecting NYC Children

About 5 million U.S. children have asthma—an average of one out of every 14 children under the age of 18. Climate change has the potential to increase outdoor air pollutants, such as dust from droughts, wildfire smoke, and ground-level ozone. In New York City, where air quality can already be challenging, these climate-related changes pose serious concerns for children’s respiratory health.

Heat-related impacts are particularly concerning. The heat impacts children in a very different way, than adults, and it actually begins before children are born. Now that heatwaves are more frequent, prolonged and with higher temperatures, we see that pre-term labour is going up. This means climate change is affecting children’s health even before they take their first breath.

Beyond immediate health effects, children can experience mental health impacts from major storms, fires, and other extreme events that are expected to increase with a changing climate. They also can suffer from other changes, such as having to move due to climate threats.

The Vision Connection: How Climate Change Affects Children’s Eye Health

One often-overlooked aspect of climate change’s impact on children’s health is its effect on vision and eye health. Climate change can also increase pollen and prolong the allergy season. Higher outdoor temperatures can lead to children spending more time indoors, where they can be exposed to indoor pollutants, such as tobacco smoke and mold.

For families in NYC seeking comprehensive eye care for their children, finding specialists who understand these environmental factors is crucial. The Children’s Optical Shop NYC recognizes that protecting children’s vision requires understanding not just traditional vision problems, but also how environmental factors like increased allergens and changing air quality can affect developing eyes.

Protecting NYC Children: What Parents Can Do

While the challenges are significant, there are concrete steps NYC families can take to protect their children’s health in our changing climate:

Identifying means of avoiding extreme heat during increasingly frequent heat waves
Monitoring air quality alerts and keeping children indoors during poor air quality days
Ensuring children have adequate hydration and sun protection during outdoor activities
Regular health check-ups to monitor for climate-related health impacts
Creating family emergency plans for extreme weather events

Parents should also be aware that children in low-income households and non-white children are more likely to be exposed to extreme heat and air pollution. They are also less able to escape from extreme weather events, highlighting the importance of community-wide solutions and support systems.

The Path Forward: Advocacy and Action

The health impacts of climate change on children require both individual family action and broader systemic change. Climate action must centre on the impact on child health and well-being, ensuring targeted strategies are implemented to protect children’s health, safety and future. Specific actions and investments are needed to generate local data, prioritizing child-focused vulnerability assessments.

As NYC continues to experience the effects of climate change, from extreme heat to severe storms, protecting our children’s health must be a top priority. This means staying informed about environmental health risks, working with healthcare providers who understand these challenges, and advocating for policies that prioritize children’s environmental health.

The climate crisis is not just changing the planet – it is changing children. From the moment of conception, until they grow into adulthood, the health and development of children’s brains, lungs, immune systems and other critical functions are affected by the environment they grow up in. By understanding these risks and taking action, NYC families can help protect their children’s health and future in our changing world.