Extreme heat putting pregnant women, newborns at risk, says UN climate chief
73% of maternal health professionals, including those in India, reported a rise in heat-linked cases or complications over the past five years
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell warned that extreme heat is turning pregnancy and childbirth into a "new faultline" in the global climate crisis, with potentially fatal consequences. A survey of 1,000 maternal health professionals in Australia, Brazil, India, the UK, and Zimbabwe revealed that 73% of respondents reported an increase in heat-linked cases or complications over the past five years.
More than 98% of respondents have cared for pregnant women affected by extreme heat, and 99% have cared for affected babies. Nearly 81% of the professionals are concerned about heat increasingly posing risks to maternal, fetal, and newborn health without more action. Stiell emphasized that extreme heat during pregnancy can lead to premature birth, stillbirth, low birth weight, and maternal complications, and that newborns are at risk as well.
He stressed the need for countries to incorporate pregnancy and newborn care into adaptation and heat planning, establish heat alerts and training, and ensure safer facilities. The survey also found that tripling adaptation finance, as agreed at COP30 in Brazil, is crucial. Without it, the climate crisis could exacerbate existing injustices, widening the gap between those with access to care and those who do not.
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