Peer-reviewed article
The cascading effects of climate change on children: extreme floods, family mobility and child well-being in Amazonia
Thaís de Carvalho ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines how climate-driven extreme floods in Amazonia affect children through family migration patterns and disrupted social networks. Using participant observation and interviews with children, the researchers found that seasonal migration caused by flooding erodes children's relationships and exposes them to material and emotional hardship. The study highlights how age and gender influence migration decisions and shows different impacts on children who migrate versus those left behind. The findings suggest that climate risk for children involves complex, cascading social effects beyond direct physical hazards.
Key points
- Climate change impacts on children involve cascading effects beyond direct flood exposure, including family separation and social disruption
- Age and gender significantly shape how families make migration decisions in response to seasonal flooding
- Children experience material and emotional hardship related to eroded social networks caused by migration patterns
- Children left behind by migrating family members face distinct vulnerabilities compared to those who migrate
- Standard climate risk indices may overlook the relational and social dimensions of children's climate vulnerability
Limitations
This is a qualitative study based on observation and interviews, so findings cannot be generalised numerically or compared quantitatively across populations. The study does not evaluate the effectiveness of any intervention to address these harms.
Abstract
Climate change is a systemic crisis with an important intergenerational dimension, as its detrimental effects are expected to escalate over time.While the Children's Climate Risk Index (CCRI) provides valuable insights into measurable generational vulnerabilities, it tends to overlook the intricate and cascading impacts of weather changes on children's lives.This paper reflects on the less visible dimensions of children's climate risk by examining a burgeoning trend of seasonal migration in Amazonia's floodplains.Combining in-depth participant observation and draw-and-tell interviews with children, the paper focuses on identifying the different factors that shape children's diverse experiences of flood impacts.The article examines how age and gender shape decisions around family mobility, and how different patterns of economic migration affect children left behind.The findings reveal that climate change is eroding vital social networks for children and exposing them to material and emotional hardship.The conclusion reflects on the importance of a more nuanced understanding of children's climate risk and presents potential directions for attending to relational precarity in climate programming.