Nearly 10 million Nepali children exposed to unhealthy air, UNICEF warns

The advocacy brief, Growing Up in a Climate Hotspot: The Risks Shaping the Lives and Futures of Nepal's Children , draws on national and global data to show how climate change, pollution and disasters are threatening children's health, nutrition, education and protection. It calls for children's rights and needs to be placed at the centre of climate policies, financing and action. The findings show that 9.9 million children are exposed to unhealthy air pollution, 7.3 million to drought and 5.7 million to extreme hot days.

Another 2.9 million face exposure to rainfall-triggered landslides, while an estimated 2.4 million are exposed to multiple high-intensity climate hazards, compounding their risks and making recovery harder. Beyond direct exposure to hazards, climate change is putting growing pressure on essential services that children depend on, the report says. Despite Nepal's development gains, only 47.5 percent of the population has access to safely managed drinking water.

One in four children under five is stunted, while 22 percent of children live in multidimensional poverty.