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

Nadi, Fiji - United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell will deliver a stark warning on Monday about the increasing risks extreme heat poses to pregnant women and their newborns. Speaking at the pre-COP summit in Nadi, Stiell will reference a survey revealing that over two-thirds of health professionals across five continents have observed complications linked to intense heat during pregnancy in the past five years.

Stiell is expected to emphasize that rising temperatures exacerbate the dangers of pregnancy. Climate-driven extreme heat during pregnancy has been increasingly associated with premature births, stillbirths, low birth weight, and maternal complications. Stiell will state that the situation is clear and very disturbing, as climate change is now a new and potentially fatal faultline in the global climate crisis.

He will warn that this faultline must not become another deep chasm of climate-driven suffering, inequality, and injustice. Scientists caution that climate change intensifies extreme weather events, resulting in heat records being broken more frequently. Approximately 33 countries, ranging from western Europe to the Sahel, are affected by these escalating threats.