Extreme heat putting pregnant women and newborns at risk, U.N. says

Nadi, Fiji – United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell is set to highlight the dangers extreme heat poses to pregnant women and newborns during a pre-COP summit in Fiji. A recent survey of over 1,000 midwives and doctors in five continents revealed that more than two thirds had witnessed complications linked to intense heat in the past five years.

Stiell will warn that rising temperatures during pregnancy are increasingly associated with premature birth, stillbirth, low birth weight, and maternal complications. He emphasizes that climate-driven extreme heat during pregnancy is now a critical fault line in the global climate crisis, potentially leading to fatal outcomes. Scientists warn that climate change is intensifying extreme weather events, breaking heat records more frequently.

Around 33 countries, from Western Europe to the Sahel and Central America, recorded their hottest July since records began this year, according to the European Union's Copernicus climate observatory. The survey, commissioned by the charitable foundation Wellcome, found that nearly all healthcare professionals had treated mothers or babies affected by extreme heat.

They reported cases of low birth weight, restricted growth, feeding difficulties, and dehydration or heat-related illness. Stiell is expected to urge leaders to act on the evidence and solutions available to protect pregnant women and their babies from the risks of climate change.