For many expectant mothers, the hottest days are no longer just uncomfortable they are dangerous.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell warned Monday that climate driven extreme heat has become a new and potentially fatal faultline in global health, putting pregnant women and newborns at increasing risk.
Speaking ahead of COP31, Stiell cited a new survey commissioned by the Wellcome foundation.
The poll of 1,000 midwives and doctors across five continents the UK, Australia, India, Brazil and Zimbabwe found more than two thirds had seen heat related pregnancy complications in the past five years.
“Rising temperatures mean rising danger in pregnancy,” Stiell said.
He linked extreme heat to premature birth, stillbirth, low birth weight and maternal complications, calling it a deepening source of inequality and injustice.
Wellcome chair and former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard called extreme heat an “invisible killer” and said pregnant women must not remain invisible in climate policy.
The warning comes after 33 countries recorded their hottest July on record this year, from Europe to the Sahel.
