Extreme heat is emerging as a growing threat to maternal and child health, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) and three United Nations agencies to launch a global framework to help countries track its effects on pregnant women, newborns and children.
The framework introduces the first set of priority health indicators designed to help governments identify potential heat-related health risks, strengthen early warning systems and improve preparedness as heatwaves become more frequent and intense.
Launched jointly by WHO, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the initiative responds to growing evidence linking extreme heat exposure to adverse health outcomes from pregnancy through childhood.
According to the agencies, studies indicate that exposure to extreme heat is associated with a 26 per cent increase in the odds of preterm birth, raising concerns about the risks facing pregnant women and newborns.
Children are also increasingly exposed to extreme temperatures. An estimated 1.5 billion children worldwide face heatwaves that are becoming more frequent, longer or more severe. Babies under one year experienced 389 per cent more heatwave days in 2024 compared with the 1986–2005 baseline period, the report highlights.
“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, Acting Director of WHO’s Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration.
He said reliable health data would help authorities recognise emerging threats, protect vulnerable populations and incorporate climate risks into routine healthcare services.
Tracking heat through health outcomes
Under the framework, countries are encouraged to monitor indicators including preterm births, stillbirths, low birthweight, pregnancy-related hypertension, child deaths and visits to health facilities during extreme heat events.
School attendance is another recommended indicator, helping authorities assess how rising temperatures may disrupt children’s daily lives and access to education.
The approach combines routine health records with environmental information, including air temperatures, to identify unusual changes in health outcomes during periods of extreme heat.
Such changes would serve as signals for further investigation rather than automatically establishing that heat caused a particular medical outcome.
Dr Pascale Allotey, Director of WHO’s Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, said monitoring health outcomes alongside heat exposure could help countries identify potential impacts and take protective action.
The indicators could enable health authorities to investigate whether extreme temperatures coincide with increases in pregnancy complications, premature births, child illnesses or demand for medical services.
From monitoring to prevention
The initiative also seeks to connect climate information with public health planning. While weather forecasts and heat warnings alert communities to rising temperatures, health indicators can help governments assess whether these conditions coincide with worsening health outcomes.
WHO is urging countries to develop context-specific heat-health action plans that account for the needs of pregnant women, newborns and children. These plans should strengthen early warning systems and establish timely responses when risks emerge.
Improved monitoring could help governments direct interventions towards vulnerable communities, issue targeted warnings to families and prepare health facilities for increased demand during heatwaves.
However, the framework’s effectiveness will depend on countries’ ability to collect reliable health data, link it with temperature records and use the findings to guide policy and healthcare decisions.
As extreme temperatures intensify, the challenge for governments is not only to anticipate heatwaves but also to understand their consequences for public health.
Integrating the indicators into national health surveillance systems could help countries identify emerging threats earlier and reduce preventable harm to mothers, newborns and children.
