Extreme heat raises preterm birth risk by 26% — WHO - Punch Newspapers

Extreme heat exposure is associated with a 26 per cent increase in the odds of preterm birth, the World Health Organisation has warned, as it launched a new global framework to help countries monitor and respond to heat-related health risks among pregnant women, newborns and children.

The framework, developed by the WHO in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organisation, UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund, introduces priority indicators to help countries track the effects of extreme heat on maternal and child health.

The organisations warned that newborns and children were increasingly exposed to heatwaves, with babies under one year experiencing 389 per cent more heatwave days in 2024 than during the 1986–2005 baseline period.

“Studies continue to provide evidence that exposure to extreme heat can harm health from pregnancy to childhood, leading to a 26 per cent increase in the odds of preterm birth. Newborns are also increasingly exposed, with babies under one year of age experiencing 389% more heatwave days in 2024 compared with the 1986 to 2005 baseline period.

“Globally, an estimated 1.5 billion children are exposed to heatwaves that are becoming more frequent, longer or more severe,” the WHO stated.

The new framework recommends monitoring outcomes such as preterm births, stillbirths, low birthweight, hypertension during pregnancy, child deaths and visits to health facilities during periods of extreme heat.

The data, combined with heat-exposure information, could help health authorities identify emerging risks, prepare health facilities for increased demand and strengthen early warning systems.

In a news release, the WHO said the framework was designed to strengthen preparedness, improve monitoring and accelerate responses to protect populations most vulnerable to climate-related health risks.

The organisation said the new indicators would enable countries to identify unusual changes in health outcomes during extreme heat, investigate possible links and take appropriate action.

The WHO also urged governments to develop and implement heat-health action plans tailored to their local circumstances, with specific measures to protect pregnant women, newborns and children.

The Director a.i. of the WHO’s Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration, Bruce Gordon, said rising global temperatures were creating new health risks, particularly for populations with limited ability to escape extreme heat.

“As our world continues to heat up, it creates new risks for health, and older people, pregnant women, newborns and children are among those least able to escape them,” Gordon said.

He stressed the need for health systems to use data to recognise the effects of extreme heat and take action, including protecting people during heatwaves and incorporating climate risks into routine health services.

The WHO said the priority indicators outlined in the new report would help countries monitor changes in maternal and child health outcomes alongside heat exposure.

It recommended tracking preterm births, stillbirths, low birthweight and pregnancy-related hypertension, as well as child deaths and visits to health facilities during periods of extreme heat.

Monitoring school attendance was also identified as a useful indicator for understanding how heat disrupts children’s lives.

The organisation said routine health data, combined with heat-exposure data such as air temperature, could help authorities detect unusual changes during extreme heat and investigate whether they might be associated with heat exposure.

The Director of the WHO’s Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, Dr Pascale Allotey, said health systems needed to measure the effects of heat to respond effectively.

“Heat is already affecting our most vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, newborns and children. But what health systems do not count, they cannot respond to,” Allotey said.

She said tracking outcomes such as preterm births, child deaths and illnesses, and health-facility visits alongside heat exposure could help countries identify potential impacts and take action to protect women and children.

The WHO stated that the information generated through the framework could help health authorities prepare facilities for increased demand, strengthen warnings to pregnant women and families, identify communities at greatest risk and improve heat-health planning.

The organisation said countries needed to strengthen their capacity to monitor and respond to the health effects of extreme heat as it became an increasingly common feature of a warming world.

It urged governments to integrate the needs of pregnant women, newborns and children into heat-health action plans, strengthen early warning systems and ensure that timely interventions were triggered when heat risks emerged.

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