Climate change can have detrimental effects on child health and wellbeing. Despite
the imperative for a fuller understanding of how climate change affects child health
and wellbeing, a systematic approach and focus solely on children (aged <18 years)
has been lacking. In this Scoping Review, we did a literature search on the impacts
of climate change on child health from January, 2000, to June, 2019. The included
studies explicitly linked an alteration of an exposure to a risk factor for child
health to climate change or climate variability. In total, 2970 original articles,
reviews, and other documents were identified, of which 371 were analysed. Employing
an expanded framework, our analysis showed that the effects of climate change on child
health act through direct and indirect pathways, with implications for determinants
of child health as well as morbidity and mortality from a range of diseases. This
understanding can be further enhanced by using a broader range of research methods,
studying overlooked populations and geographical regions, investigating the costs
and benefits of mitigation and adaptation for child health, and considering the position
of climate change and child health within the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Present
and future generations of children bear and will continue to bear an unacceptably
high disease burden from climate change.