The UN’s executive secretary for Climate Change, Simon Stiell, today warned of the danger of extreme heat during pregnancy and childbirth, advocating protective measures for pregnant women and newborns against the effects of global warming.
In his speech delivered on the first day of the pre-COP31 conference, taking place on the Fiji islands, Stiell stated that “staying cool” is not an option when there is nowhere cool to go, underlining the need to include maternal and neonatal health in national climate adaptation plans and in strategies to combat heat waves.
The UN official spoke at an event organized by Wellcome, an international foundation that funds health research and programs, as part of an initiative to promote protective measures for pregnant women and newborns against the effects of global warming.
Stiell presented new data from a Wellcome survey of 1,000 maternal health professionals from Australia, Brazil, India, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe, in which 73% reported that heat-related cases or complications had risen in the last five years.
According to the survey’s conclusions, 81% of health professionals are concerned about the increasing heat risk to maternal, fetal, and neonatal health.
Almost all (98%) of the professionals surveyed reported having treated a pregnant woman whose health they considered affected by extreme heat, and 99% said they had treated a baby in such a situation.
According to the study data, each one-degree Celsius rise contributes to a 5% increase in preterm births and a 7% increase in cases of gestational diabetes.
Stiell also warned that the risks do not affect all families equally.
Those living in precarious housing, working outdoors, traveling long distances to reach a clinic, or relying on health centers without water, electricity or refrigeration have fewer opportunities to protect themselves from extreme temperatures.
The executive’s speech comes in the context of pre-COP31, a meeting that serves as a prelude to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP31), to be held in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9 to 20.
Fiji, Tuvalu and Australia are hosting this pre-conference event from today until Thursday to raise awareness of the priorities of small Pacific island states, particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and extreme weather events.
Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka urged, on the eve of the meeting, that climate finance reach the communities that need it “now” and as “an act of justice, not charity.”
Fiji also hopes to secure commitments of around $500 million (about €442 million) to bolster the resilience of Pacific nations.
The region also advocates maintaining the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, compared with pre-industrial levels, increasing funding for adaptation and mitigation of losses and damages, and placing the oceans at the center of negotiations.
In this context, Stiell called for increased funding for adaptation and concluded that “the start of a healthy life for a newborn should never depend on a family’s ability to escape the heat.”
