A new global survey has found that extreme heat poses serious dangers to pregnant people and their newborns, NPR reported on Wednesday. The findings were released as part of United Nations climate discussions, where the issue was raised as a growing public health concern.
According to NPR, the survey points to heat as a significant risk during pregnancy and in the period right after birth. The results were echoed by other outlets covering the same announcement, including Punch Newspapers, which reported that the UN warned extreme heat is putting pregnant women and newborns at risk.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change chief said rising temperatures mean rising danger in pregnancy, according to RTTNews. Courthouse News reported that the UN delivered a similar message to talks in Fiji, warning that intense heat puts births in jeopardy. The UN's own coverage described extreme heat as making pregnancy a "new fault line" in the climate crisis.
The reports frame the survey as part of a broader push to treat heat exposure as a health issue, not only an environmental one. The material did not include specific figures from the survey or details on which countries were studied.
What to watch next: whether the UN climate talks produce commitments aimed at protecting pregnant people and infants from extreme heat.
