With temperatures in Laya, Gasa, dropping to 2°C during the day and between -1°C and -3°C at night, Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) centers in Laya and Lungo, Gasa, have closed since the second week of November.

Residents of Laya, along with their children, have started moving to warmer areas in Punakha to escape the cold. They will return to their highland homes in March when the weather improves.

“It’s too cold for children to stay here,” said Dechen Zangmo, facilitator of the Lungo ECCD centre, which is located at 3,872 metres above sea level. Lungo is a two-hour walk from Laya.

Dechen said that the centre, which caters to five girls and eight boys from Lungo, closed on November 11 and will reopen towards the end of March.

Parents drop their children, aged 3-5, at the centre at 8:30 a.m. and pick them up at 3:00 p.m. after finishing farm and domestic work. “If parents or grandparents are late, I look after the children,” said Dechen, who joined as a facilitator a year ago. “When parents go to collect cordyceps—their main source of income—I make sure children left with grandparents are cared for according to UNICEF guidelines.”

Laya has two ECCD centres, established in 2017 with support from UNICEF and the Ministry of Education.

Kinley Om, the facilitator of Laya ECCD, looks after 20 children—10 boys and 10 girls. Most are children of school staff and other employees in Laya. Kinley Om said, “I’m not sure how climate change affects their daily lives, but we’re experiencing unpredictable weather patterns. It disrupts normal routines and may be affecting the children indirectly.”

UNICEF supports ECCD centres across Bhutan by training facilitators, developing child-friendly plans and materials, and offering parenting support. According to its 2019 annual report, UNICEF is also piloting mobile ECCD programmes to ensure children in remote areas have access to learning opportunities. The goal is to increase ECCD coverage for children aged between three and five from 25 percent to 50 percent by 2024.

COP29: A focus on children

At a high-level roundtable on children, youth, and climate action during COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan on November 18, issues affecting children due to climate change were discussed.

According to UNICEF, children worldwide are bearing the brunt of climate change despite contributing the least to it. Nearly every child on earth is exposed to at least one climate or environmental hazard, and about one billion children live in countries at extremely high risk.

UNICEF’s Executive Director Catherine Russell emphasised the need for urgent action. “Children have endured record-breaking heat, floods, droughts, and hurricanes. They are the least responsible for these crises, yet they carry the heaviest burden. Now is the time to act,” she said.

UNICEF calls for action

At COP29, UNICEF urged global leaders to prioritise children in climate solutions. Key recommendations include recognising climate change’s impact on children, setting new financial targets and  involving children and youth in policy making besides drawing the focus on children’s unique vulnerabilities and include ambitious emissions reduction targets aligned with the 1.5°C goal.

UNICEF also called for robust data collection to track climate impacts on children and guide evidence-based policies. “Children—especially those from marginalised communities—must be included in planning processes to shape resilient solutions,” UNICEF stated.  “Resources should be allocated to strengthen child-centered services, ensuring a livable future for the youngest generations.”

The challenges faced by children in Bhutan’s high-altitude communities like Laya reflect the broader global crisis discussed at COP29. As the world’s leaders deliberate on climate action, stories from remote regions emphasise the urgent need to safeguard the futures of children everywhere, ensuring no child is left behind in the fight against climate change.

Contributed by Rinzin Wangchuk

The story is supported by UNICEF through JAB for the journalism reporting grant on climate change and children