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Lancet Countdown indicators for young minds

Bringing climate change and health to life for kids and teens

In 2023, record-breaking global temperatures highlighted the urgent need for climate action to prevent worsening climate-related health impacts. Europe, warming at twice the global average rate, faces significant health threats and unnecessary loss of life. The Lancet Countdown in Europe, established in 2021, aims to drive rapid health-responsive climate actions. Its 2022 report tracked progress using 33 indicators across five domains.

The latest report expands to 42 indicators, emphasising the negative health impacts of climate change, the slow response of European countries, and missed health improvement opportunities. 

IDAlert, together with the CATALYSE project, also part of the European Climate-Health Cluster, has contributed to a newly published paper by the Lancet Countdown in Europe, published in Frontiers for Young Minds, an open-access science journal where researchers write articles accessible to young audiences (ages 8–15). In this unique journal, children themselves, with support from expert science mentors, serve as peer reviewers, ensuring every article is accurate, engaging and understandable for its intended audience.

In this publication, the Lancet Countdown’s complex climate change and health indicators were translated into easy-to-understand information for children and teenagers. The article breaks down what climate change means, explores its impacts on our health, and explains why urgent climate action is essential for protecting well-being. It also delves into ways communities can adapt to a changing climate and showcases the many health benefits that come from reducing climate change.

Above all, the article emphasises that meeting these challenges is a shared responsibility, and that everyone can play a part in creating a healthier, more sustainable future.

Read full paper

Explore the Lancet Countdown indicators

Vulnerability to heat exposure

Physical activity related heat stress risk

Wildfire smoke

Drought

Climatic suitability for Vibrio

Climatic suitability for West Nile virus

Climatic suitability for dengue, chikungunya and Zika

Climatic Suitability for leishmaniasis

Climatic suitability for ticks

Allergenic trees

Food security and undernutrition

Climate information for health

Green space

Air conditioning benefits and harms

Carbon intensity of the energy system

Coal phase-out

Production-based and consumption-based attribution of CO2 and PM2.5 emissions

Sustainable and healthy transport

Sustainable diets

Health sector emissions and harms

Economic losses due to climate-related extreme events

Change in labour supply

Net value of fossil fuel subsidies and carbon prices

Clean energy investment

Coverage of health and climate Change in scientific articles

Engagement with health and climate change in the European Parliament

Media engagement with health and climate change

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