Pediatric Dermatology and the Climate Crisis: Emerging Patterns of Disease

Rising global temperatures, extreme weather events, and environmental pollution are increasingly driving novel patterns of skin disease in children, whose developing physiology and higher surface-area-to-body-mass ratio heighten climate-related dermatological risks. Core emerging conditions include heat-ag gravated miliaria and cellulitis post-floods, expanding vector-borne dermatoses (e.g., Lyme disease and dengue-associated rashes due to shifting tick/mosquito habitats), pollution-exposed atopic dermatitis flares, and moisture-fueled fungal infections like tineacapitis in displaced populations. Contributing elements span intensified UV exposure, extreme-weather-related trauma, and socioeconomic barriers to climate-adaptive care. Clinical responses now integrate climate-conscious diagnostic frameworks (e.g., considering geographic disease expansion in differentials), real-time geospatial surveillance for outbreak prediction, and community-level public health initiatives like heat-index-triggered dermatitis prevention alerts. Early adoption of these strategies can reduce hospitalizations, inform urban planning for climate-resilient healthcare access, and drive cross-sector collaboration between dermatologists, climatologists, and policymakers—ultimately protecting vulnerable paediatric populations through proactive, climate-informed skin health management.

Dr. Aarti Sarda

MBBS, MD, Member of ISD & EADV, Senior Consultant Dermatologist, Cosmetologist & Pediatric Dermatologist, Manipal Hospitals, Kolkata, Deputy Editor at the Indian Journal of Dermatology

Speaker