Global Environmental Change· 2026Q1
Soil aridification, precipitation, and infant health: Evidence from Africa
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- 2026year
Short summary
Infants born in African regions with higher potential evapotranspiration (PET) face increased risks of being underweight and mortality under age five, indicating that rainfall's health benefits are diminished by soil aridity.
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Key points
- Infants in areas with higher potential evapotranspiration (PET) face greater risks of being underweight at birth and mortality under age five.
- Rainfall's health benefits for children are mediated by soil-retained moisture, with benefits decreasing in regions experiencing stronger aridification.
- Reliance on agriculture, crop productivity, and composition appear to be key mediating channels for these health impacts.
- Soil aridity should be considered alongside temperature and precipitation when assessing climate change impacts on health and economics.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
While research has studied the effects of climate variation on child nutrition, the role of soil moisture and degradation in shaping child well-being remains relatively understudied. Combining climate and infant health data from Africa, we show that rainfall’s health benefits are mediated by potential evapotranspiration (PET), highlighting the importance of soil-retained moisture. Infants born in areas of greater PET face higher risks of being underweight at birth and of mortality under age five. Moreover, rainfall becomes less relevant for child health in regions experiencing stronger aridification. We find suggestive evidence that reliance on agriculture, as well as crop productivity and composition, are key mediating channels. These findings underscore the need to account for soil aridity, alongside temperature and precipitation, when assessing the economic and health impacts of climate, and call for policy action to improve soil and water resource management in developing countries.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Global Environmental Change, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Nutrition and Dietetics
Nutrition and DieteticsNursing