Australia records big bump in pregnancy heat-risk days
Darwin experienced a sharp 17-day jump in heat conditions threatening to pregnant people and newborns, the biggest increase of all Australian cities captured in the analysis by international non-profit Climate Central.
Heatwaves pose birth risks, with the World Health Organization linking high temperatures to preterm birth and stillbirth as well as hypertension and gestational diabetes.
Climate Central vice-president for science Kristina Dahl said climate change added more than half of Australia's pregnancy heat-risk days experienced over the past five years.
"That means climate change is already making it harder to have a healthy pregnancy, especially in regions where care may be limited," Dr Dahl said.
She said each day of extreme heat increased the chances of serious pregnancy complications.
More than 240 countries and territories were assessed against a known marker of elevated preterm birth risks; days when maximum temperatures are higher than 95 per cent of local seasonal temperatures.
These extremely hot days were counted and compared with a counter-factual estimating extreme heat without human-caused climate change.
From there it was possible to gauge how many pregnancy heat-risk days were caused by climate change each year.
Every country experienced more pregnancy heat-risk days between 2020 and 2024, with higher emissions from burning fossil fuels and other human activities adding an extra month for nearly one-third.
The sharpest increases were recorded in developing nations with substandard healthcare systems.
Keeping cool with air-conditioning also tends to be more challenging in less-developed countries.
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