Why Pediatric Surgeons Need to Care About Climate Change

In brief

This article examines the urgent connection between climate change and pediatric surgical practice, highlighting how extreme weather events like the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires directly impact children's health and surgical care delivery. It calls on pediatric surgeons to recognize climate change as an immediate public health crisis requiring professional engagement.

• 2024 was the hottest year on record; climate change is a present reality, not a future threat.
• Wildfires and extreme weather events directly impact patient populations and healthcare delivery systems.
• Pediatric surgeons must understand climate health impacts to advocate for vulnerable pediatric patients.
• Climate-related disasters disrupt surgical care access and increase pediatric emergency presentations.
• Healthcare professionals have a role in climate advocacy to protect children's long-term health outcomes.

Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.