Extreme heat putting pregnant women, newborns at risk: UN climate chief
- UN climate chief Simon Stiell warned on Monday in Nadi, Fiji, that extreme heat poses growing risks to pregnant women and newborns, describing pregnancy as a 'new faultline' in the global climate crisis.
- Climate change is making extreme weather more intense, with around 33 countries recording their hottest July this year, according to AFP analysis of European Union Copernicus observatory data.
- Across five continents, more than two thirds of health professionals in a Wellcome-commissioned survey of 1,000 practitioners reported complications from intense heat, including restricted growth and dehydration in the past five years.
- Prime Minister Julia Gillard, chairwoman of Wellcome, urged leaders to act on the evidence, as Stiell warned that 'Pregnancy should be a time of hope' but is becoming a time of anxiety from climate-driven risks.
- Preceding the larger UN-sponsored COP31 climate conference in Turkey next month, the pre-COP summit in Fiji and Tuvalu allows Pacific leaders to showcase life on the frontline of climate change.
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18 Articles
Climate Change Is Becoming a Pregnancy Hazard Worldwide, Survey Finds
A community health worker examines a pregnant woman inside her home while family members look on, highlighting the growing challenges mothers face as extreme heat and climate-related pressures strain access to healthcare in vulnerable communities. Credit: WellcomeBy Umar Manzoor ShahSUVA, Fiji & SRINAGAR, India, Oct 5 2026 (IPS) Extreme heat is increasingly threatening pregnant women and newborn babies around the world, with almost all maternal …
Scientists warn that climate change is intensifying extreme weather events and causing heat records to be met more frequently.
High temperatures could increase multiple risks, ranging from premature births to the death of the newborn to congenital malformations.
The UN warns that extreme heat from climate change increases risks during pregnancy, including premature birth, infant death, low birth weight, and maternal complications.
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