Monica Kayombo/Zambia, Lusaka,
EXPOSURE to extreme heat increases the odds of premature birth by 26 per cent, raising concerns over the health of pregnant women, newborns and children as heatwaves become more frequent, longer-lasting and severe, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
The warning comes as an estimated 1.5 billion children worldwide are exposed to heatwaves that are becoming more frequent, longer or more severe, while babies under one year of age experienced 389 per cent more heatwave days in 2024 compared with the 1986–2005 baseline period.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, WHO, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) announced the launch of a new global framework to help countries track the effects of extreme heat on maternal, newborn and child health.
The framework introduces a set of priority indicators intended to strengthen health monitoring, improve preparedness and enable governments to respond more effectively to the growing threat posed by extreme temperatures.
WHO said scientific evidence continued to show that exposure to extreme heat could harm health from pregnancy through childhood, making pregnant women, newborns and children among the populations most vulnerable to the effects of a warming climate.
“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.
“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,” he said.
The framework responds to gaps in the ability of health systems to measure the effects of heat exposure and identify emerging threats to vulnerable populations.
WHO said that although evidence of the health risks associated with extreme heat was growing, countries still faced challenges in systematically monitoring its effects on pregnant women, newborns and children.
The new framework therefore provides guidance on collecting and analysing health information alongside temperature and other heat-exposure data to help authorities detect potential heat-related health problems.
It recommends that countries monitor a range of outcomes, including premature births, stillbirths, low birthweight, high blood pressure during pregnancy, child deaths and visits to health facilities during periods of extreme heat.
Monitoring school attendance is also recommended as a way of identifying how high temperatures disrupt children’s lives.
The framework groups its priority indicators across four areas: routine maternal, newborn and child health monitoring; public health and surveillance systems; climate and health monitoring; and the measurement of heat exposure.
Countries can select core and additional indicators according to their circumstances and the capacity of their health information systems.
WHO said routine health records, when analysed alongside heat-exposure information such as air temperature, could help authorities identify unusual changes in health outcomes during extreme heat events.
Such signals would allow health officials to investigate possible links between heat and adverse health outcomes and take appropriate action.
The information could also help health authorities anticipate increased demand for services, strengthen warnings to pregnant women and families, identify communities at greatest risk and improve heat-health planning.
Dr Pascale Allotey, director of WHO’s Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, said health systems needed to measure the effects of extreme heat to respond effectively.
“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,” she said.
“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,” Dr Allotey said.
WHO said the new indicators offered governments a practical starting point for identifying trends, detecting possible health impacts and adapting programmes to protect women and children.
The agency urged all countries to develop and implement heat-health action plans tailored to their national and local circumstances.
Such plans should incorporate the needs of pregnant women, newborns and children, strengthen early-warning systems and ensure timely action when heat-related risks emerge.
The framework also encourages countries to integrate climate risks into routine health services instead of treating extreme heat only as an emergency when temperatures rise to dangerous levels.
The initiative comes amid growing international concern about the health consequences of climate change, particularly for people whose age, circumstances or living conditions limit their ability to avoid prolonged exposure to high temperatures.
For countries such as Zambia, the framework offers an opportunity to strengthen the integration of climate information and health surveillance, particularly in maternal and child health services.
Monitoring pregnancy outcomes, childhood illnesses, deaths and health-facility visits alongside temperature data could help health authorities identify potential risks and determine where additional protection and preparedness are needed.
WHO said improved monitoring would enable governments to better identify risks, target interventions and protect pregnant women, newborns and children from preventable harm.
As extreme heat becomes an increasingly common feature of a warming world, the agency is calling for stronger health surveillance, better preparedness and coordinated action to ensure that the most vulnerable populations are not left exposed to its consequences.
