Four UN agencies, the World Health Organization, World Meteorological Organization, UNICEF, and United Nations Population Fund, have launched a pioneering set of indicators to assist nations in tracking the impact of extreme heat on pregnant women, infants, and children.
Addressing Climate-Related Health Risks
This initiative seeks to enhance readiness, surveillance, and response efforts to safeguard vulnerable populations from health threats linked to climate change. Research indicates that exposure to extreme heat during pregnancy can raise the likelihood of preterm birth by 26%.
Young infants are particularly affected, with babies under one year old enduring 389% more heatwave days in 2024 compared to the 1986–2005 reference period. Worldwide, approximately 1.5 billion children face heatwaves that are intensifying in frequency, duration, and severity.
According to Bruce Gordon, Acting Director of WHO’s Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration, healthcare systems require accurate data to identify the escalating health risks associated with rising temperatures and implement effective measures. This encompasses safeguarding individuals during heatwaves and integrating climate-related risks into standard healthcare services.
The report advises countries to monitor specific health indicators during extreme heat events, including preterm births, stillbirths, low birthweight, pregnancy-induced hypertension, child mortality, and healthcare facility visits. School attendance data can also illustrate the disruptive effects of high temperatures on children’s routines.
Dr. Pascale Allotey, Director of WHO’s Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, emphasized that monitoring these health outcomes in conjunction with heat exposure would enable countries to detect potential impacts and adopt protective measures for women and children. Merging routine health data with temperature records can further assist authorities in identifying anomalies during heatwaves, exploring potential connections, and taking appropriate action.
These insights can help health authorities prepare facilities for heightened demand, issue heat alerts to pregnant women and families, pinpoint highly exposed communities, and enhance heat-health strategies. WHO calls on countries to utilize the new indicators to assess risks, implement targeted protections, and develop heat-health action plans tailored to local needs. Such plans should prioritize pregnant women, newborns, and children, strengthen early warning systems, and ensure prompt responses to heat-related risks.
Leave a Reply