The first global priority indicators for maternal and child heat risk launch

WHO, WMO, UNICEF and UNFPA launched the first priority indicators for extreme-heat health risks to pregnant women, newborns and children on October 21, aiming to help countries identify danger, prepare facilities and trigger action sooner. Existing studies associate heat exposure with 26% higher odds of preterm birth. Babies under one experienced 389% more heatwave days in 2024 than the 1986-2005 baseline, and an estimated 1.5 billion children face heatwaves that are more frequent, longer or more severe. The framework pairs temperature with preterm birth, stillbirth, low birthweight, pregnancy hypertension, child deaths, care visits and school absence. Indicators detect unusual signals rather than prove that one heat event caused an individual outcome; data quality, frontline recording and local thresholds still determine usefulness.