Extreme Heat Posing Severe Risks to Pregnant Women and Newborns, UN Warns
· World · Hindustan Times, CNA
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell stated that extreme heat has created a new fault line in the global climate crisis by endangering pregnant women and newborns. Speaking at the Pre-COP ministerial meeting in Fiji, Stiell cited a survey in which 73 percent of maternal health professionals across five continents, including India, reported a rise in heat-linked complications over the past five years. The survey of 1,000 health professionals was commissioned by the health foundation Wellcome as part of the new Birthright campaign. Data shows that every 1°C rise in temperature correlates with a 5 percent increase in premature births and a 7 percent increase in gestational diabetes. Stiell emphasised that vulnerable workers and residents in unregulated housing cannot be protected by advice alone when cooling infrastructure is absent.
Why it matters
Rising global temperatures directly threaten maternal and neonatal health systems in developing countries like India, where outdoor workers and low-income families lack access to adequate cooling and healthcare infrastructure.
Read the original report — Hindustan Times
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