A new global framework from WHO and partner agencies sets indicators for tracking heat-related risks including preterm births, stillbirths, child deaths and missed school days.
The World Health Organization, together with the World Meteorological Organization, UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund, has unveiled a global framework designed to help health systems track the risks that extreme heat poses to pregnant women, newborns and children. Announced on 21 October, the guidance is intended to give countries a clearer way to monitor heat-related harm and strengthen preparedness as dangerous temperatures become more common and severe.
At the heart of the framework is a set of priority indicators that countries can use to link heat exposure with health outcomes. According to WHO, those measures include preterm births, stillbirths, low birthweight, pregnancy-related hypertension, child deaths and visits to health facilities during hot spells. Schools can also track attendance to show how heat interrupts children’s daily lives, while routine health records can be compared with temperature data to help authorities spot unusual patterns and respond sooner.
WHO said the approach is meant to move heat from a general climate concern into day-to-day health planning. Bruce Gordon, acting director of the agency’s Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration, said vulnerable groups such as older people, pregnant women, newborns and children are least able to avoid the effects of extreme heat, and that health systems need better data to respond. Pascale Allotey, who heads WHO’s Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, said systems cannot act on risks they do not count.
The publication comes against a backdrop of mounting evidence that heat is already affecting maternal and child health. WHO says exposure to extreme heat is linked with a 26% rise in the odds of preterm birth, while babies under one year old experienced 389% more heatwave days in 2024 than in the 1986-2005 baseline period. The organisation also estimates that about 1.5 billion children worldwide are exposed to increasingly frequent, longer or more intense heatwaves. It is urging governments to put in place heat-health action plans tailored to pregnant women and children, alongside stronger warning systems and faster responses when temperatures spike.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
