Defending children's rights against global warming

IN a special report on climate change more than a decade ago, Time magazine warned: "Be worried. Be very worried because climate change is not some vague future problem." Today, it is already damaging the planet at an alarming rate — polar ice caps are melting faster than ever; more and more land is being devastated by drought; rising waters are drowning low-lying communities; and worse, global warming is going to lead to a rise in human sickness and death among the world's old and young population alike.

True enough, as average temperature climbs, frequent and longer heat waves resulted in higher mosquito populations in the tropics which contributed much to the spread of malaria, dengue and other insect-borne infections. Industrial and traffic pollution, detrimental to air quality, brought forth lung ailments like asthma and allergy attacks. Heavy downpours led to floods and the bigger issue of water quality.