The World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have launched a global framework to help countries monitor the effects of extreme heat on pregnant women, newborns and children.
The framework, announced on October 21, 2026, introduces priority health indicators to strengthen surveillance, improve preparedness and guide responses to the growing health risks associated with rising temperatures.
According to WHO, exposure to extreme heat has been linked to a 26 per cent increase in the odds of preterm birth, while babies under one year experienced 389 per cent more heatwave days in 2024 compared with the 1986–2005 baseline period.
An estimated 1.5 billion children worldwide are exposed to heatwaves that are becoming more frequent, longer or more severe.
The new framework recommends that countries track health outcomes including preterm births, stillbirths, low birthweight, pregnancy-related hypertension, child deaths and visits to health facilities during extreme heat events.
Monitoring school attendance is also encouraged as a way of assessing how heat disrupts children’s daily lives and access to education.
Bruce Gordon, Acting Director of WHO’s Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration, said health systems needed reliable data to identify heat-related risks and respond effectively.
He noted that older people, pregnant women, newborns and children were among those least able to escape the effects of extreme heat.
Dr Pascale Allotey, Director of WHO’s Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, said monitoring health outcomes alongside heat exposure would help countries identify potential impacts and protect vulnerable populations.
The agencies said combining routine health records with temperature data could help authorities detect unusual changes in health outcomes during heatwaves and investigate possible links to extreme temperatures.
The information could also help health facilities prepare for increased demand, improve warnings to pregnant women and families, identify high-risk communities and strengthen public health planning.
WHO has urged governments to develop context-specific heat-health action plans that account for the needs of pregnant women, newborns and children, while strengthening early-warning systems and ensuring timely responses when heat risks emerge.
