Srinagar, Oct 22: The World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have launched a global framework to help countries monitor the health impacts of extreme heat on pregnant women, newborns and children.
Launched on October 21, the framework introduces priority indicators to strengthen health monitoring, preparedness and responses to extreme heat, which is becoming more frequent and severe worldwide.
Evidence shows that exposure to extreme heat is associated with a 26% increase in the odds of preterm birth. Babies under one year of age experienced 389% more heatwave days in 2024 than during the 1986–2005 baseline period. An estimated 1.5 billion children worldwide are exposed to heatwaves that are becoming more frequent, longer or more severe.
“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,” said Bruce Gordon, Director a.i. of WHO’s Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration.
“Our health systems need the data to recognize this reality and take action – from protecting people during heatwaves to embedding climate risk consideration into everyday health services.”
The framework recommends monitoring preterm births, stillbirths, low birthweight, pregnancy-related hypertension, child deaths and visits to health facilities during extreme heat. School attendance can also be tracked to assess how heat disrupts children’s lives.
“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,” said Dr Pascale Allotey, Director of WHO’s Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing.
“By tracking outcomes such as preterm birth, child deaths and illnesses, and health-facility visits alongside heat exposure, countries can identify potential impacts and take action to protect women and children.”
Combining routine health records with heat-exposure data, including air temperatures, can help authorities identify unusual changes during extreme heat and investigate potential health impacts. The findings can also help health facilities prepare for increased demand, improve warnings to families and pregnant women, and identify communities most at risk.
WHO urged all countries to develop and implement context-specific heat-health action plans that account for the needs of pregnant women, newborns and children, strengthen early warning systems and enable timely responses when heat risks emerge.
