Effects and resilience to climate crisis among adolescents: a narrative review on South Asian countries

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis narrative review aims to assess the effects of the climate crisis on various aspects of adolescent wellbeing, and community level coping mechanisms being used to build resilience. This study summarizes research findings from eight South Asian countries based on a scoping review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature (critically evaluated) published between 1st January 2000 and 31st December 2021. We have included multiple dimensions of climate change such as drought, floods, cyclones, tsunamis, storms, raised temperature/heatwaves, heavy rainfall, rising sea level, and glacier melt-related extreme weather events. Findings suggest Extreme Weather Events (EWE) affect adolescents and their wellbeing in various ways, with adolescent girls disproportionately harmed, as EWE are linked to early marriage, trafficking, gender based sexual and physical violence. Regional variation suggested , with Bangladeshi adolescents most vulnerable to EWE, followed by India and Pakistan. Floods, droughts and cyclones are the most commonly reported EWE affecting adolescents in the South Asian region. As the climate crisis is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of EWE, it will be critical to understand the gender sensitive impacts in more in-depth and find more sustainable solutions for the global problem that is adversely impacting the adolescent's life, wellbeing, and development.KEYWORDS: Adolescentclimate crisisclimate changeextreme weather eventsSouth Asia AcknowledgementsThis paper was written as part of the Population, Environmental Risks, and the Climate Crisis (PERCC) initiative of Population Council which investigates the complex interactions and dynamics between people and their environment and helps to ensure that climate programs and policies are progressive, inclusive, and rooted in the principles of equity. The authors are grateful to Jessie Pinchoff, Bidhubhusan Mahapatra, K.G. Santhya and Sajeda Amin of Population Council for their insightful comments on earlier versions of this paper. The authors would also like to acknowledge the contributions of other colleagues of Population Council.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsSangram Kishor PatelDr. Sangram Kishor Patel is a Senior Programme Officer, in Poverty, Gender and Youth Program of Population Council, New Delhi, India. He is also looking after Population Council's initiative on Population, Environmental Risks, and the Climate Crisis (PERCC) from India office. He has received his PhD from International Institute of Population Sciences. He has nearly two decades of working and research experience in the field of population health, burden of diseases, adolescents and youth, gender, climate change and disaster resilience in South Asia. He has nearly hundreds of publications on different cross-cutting issues, which were part of different strategic and policy decisions at various levels.Rahul RajakDr. Rahul Rajak is a doctoral research scholar at the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai. His doctoral research focuses on "Occupational Health of Iron and Steel Industry Workers, in India." His research interests lie in occupational health, urban mobility, environmental health, pollution and climate change, and gender-specific research. He has previously published articles and chapters in edited books in a similar domain.

Topics & Concepts