Extreme heat putting pregnant women, newborns at risk: UN climate chief

United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell warns that extreme heat during pregnancy poses growing risks to mothers and newborns. Speaking at the pre-COP summit in Nadi, Fiji, Stiell will cite a survey finding that over two-thirds of health professionals across five continents have observed complications due to intense heat in the past five years.

Rising temperatures exacerbate the danger, Stiell is expected to say, linking climate-driven extreme heat during pregnancy to premature birth, stillbirth, low birth weight, and maternal complications. The pre-COP31 summit in Fiji, hosted by Pacific leaders, aims to highlight the frontline impacts of climate change and draw attention to life on the frontlines.

Scientists warn that climate change is making extreme weather events more frequent and intense, leading to record-breaking heat globally. A survey commissioned by the charitable foundation Wellcome found that nearly all midwives and doctors had cared for mothers or babies affected by extreme heat, with a third reporting cases of low birth weight, restricted growth, feeding difficulties, dehydration, and heat-related illnesses.

Australian former Prime Minister Julia Gillard emphasized that mothers and babies are increasingly at risk due to climate change, urging leaders to act on the available evidence and solutions.