Climate Change and Heat: Challenges for Child Health Outcomes and Inequities

Purpose of ReviewAs temperatures rise from human-driven climate change, adverse health outcomes will become more prominent, especially in children. Heat worsens other aspects of climate change in a vicious cycle, including air and water pollution, extreme weather events, and resource scarcity. These health outcomes are already magnified in minoritized communities globally, due to systems of power and oppression. This review summarizes research on pediatric health consequences of heat, and explores structural factors driving heat-related health inequity.Recent FindingsThere is growing literature on heat-related impacts on disease-specific outcomes that can generally be categorized by organ system. There already exists robust extra-medical literature on drivers of heat inequity in urban, rural, and global communities.SummaryHeat impacts pediatric health across organ systems, especially as the population becomes more medically complex. This review can guide further research in pediatric-specific outcomes and emphasizes the need for multidisciplinary, community-centered efforts to mitigate health inequity in heat and climate change.