Climate change to increase heat-related health risks for children - report

High temperatures pose an increasing health risk in Germany as climate change progresses and younger children are more likely to suffer, said a report by German health insurance company DAK. Above a temperature of 30 degree Celsius, the likelihood that children and adolescents would need treatment for heat-related injuries is eight times higher than when it is below 30° C, the report found. Among primary school children aged five to nine, the risk is further elevated, at nine times of what it is on days with temperatures below 30° C.

“In view of the advancing climate change, I predict that the number of cases of heat-related damage in our medical practices will increase,” said Michael Hubmann, president of the German Association of Paediatricians and Adolescent Doctors (BVKJ). Between 2018 and 2022, on average almost 2,600 children and adolescents were treated for heat-related injuries per year on the 14 ‘heat days’ that exceed 30 degrees Celsius, said the report. Over 1,000 newborns and infants with impaired breathing also receive medical treatment each year on heat days.

The report showed that three quarters of children and young people in Germany suffer during hot weather. The most common complaints are sleep problems, headaches, tiredness, loss of appetite and circulatory problems. Around 20 percent of those affected have already received medical treatment for heat-related complaints.

DAK head Andreas Storm called for adequate heat protection for children. “We need effective heat protection from nurseries to schools, from playgrounds to football pitches. Children must not be neglected when designing and implementing heat protection plans,” he said.

For the report, the insurance company evaluated data of customer below the age of 17, linking it to temperature data. In addition, pollster Forsa surveyed 1,219 parents and their children. As part of its climate change adaptation efforts, Germany presented its first ever "heat protection plan" in the summer of 2023, with the aim of halving heat-related deaths. Ahead of summer 2024, health minister Karl Lauterbach called on the country’s hospitals and care facilities to improve their preparedness against the negative health effects posed by increasingly common heatwaves.