India, projected to house 350 million children by 2050, must navigate critical challenges like extreme climate and environmental hazards to ensure their well-being and rights, according to a new UNICEF report.

It underlined that although India will see a decline of 106 million children compared to today, it will still account for 15 per cent of the global child population, sharing this responsibility with China, Nigeria, and Pakistan.

UNICEF's flagship State of the World's Children 2024 report, The Future of Children in a Changing World, was launched in New Delhi on Wednesday, spotlighting three global megatrends, demographic shifts, climate crises, and frontier technologies that are set to reshape the lives of children by 2050.

The report was unveiled by Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF India Representative, alongside Suruchi Bhadwal of The Energy Research Institute (TERI), UNICEF Youth Advocate Kartik Verma.

The report pointed out that by the 2050s, children will face dramatically increased exposure to extreme climate and environmental hazards and nearly eight times more children are expected to be exposed to extreme heatwaves compared to the 2000s.

This escalation of the climate and environmental crisis is compounded by the fact that more children will be living in today's interpretation of lower-income countries, particularly in Africa, where resources to tackle these challenges may be limited without significant, strategic investments.

The report underscored that India, projected to house 350 million children by 2050, must navigate critical challenges to ensure their well-being and rights. Although India will see a decline of 106 million children compared to today, it will still account for 15% of the global child population, sharing this responsibility with China, Nigeria, and Pakistan.