The hotter the temperatures, the riskier the pregnancy. A Climate Central analysis largely found that to be true when it looked at data collected between 2020 and 2024.
Climate Central studied daily temperatures in 247 countries and 940 global cities during that time period to determine the number of pregnancy heat-risk days.
That classification, which is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, is given to days with maximum temperatures warmer than 95 percent of a location’s days.
Pregnancy heat-risk days, Climate Central found, are on the rise. In fact, nearly one-third of analyzed countries experienced at least one additional month’s worth of pregnancy heat-risk days on average annually due to climate change.
Additionally, all but 25 analyzed countries at least doubled the average annual number
of pregnancy heat-risk days experienced during the past five years, compared to a
world without climate change.
The countries with the greatest increase were those in developing regions with limited access to healthcare. That includes the Caribbean, as well as parts of Central and South America, the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.
“Even a single day of extreme heat can raise the risk of serious pregnancy complications,” Climate Central’s vice president of science, Kristina Dahl, told ABC News. “Climate change is increasing extreme heat and stacking the odds against healthy pregnancies worldwide, especially in places where care is already hard to access.”
Pregnancy Heat-Risk Days in the U.S.
As for the U.S., it experienced an average increase of 12 pregnancy heat-risk days each year.
Overall, West Palm Beach, Florida, saw the most significant increase pregnancy heat-risk days in the U.S. Other significantly impacted cities include Miami, Florida, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Odessa, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah.
In terms of states, Utah saw the biggest increase, followed by Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Hawaii.
Climate Central, citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that even a single day of extreme heat can increase the risk of pregnancy complications. For Black and Hispanic women in the U.S., risks of preterm birth or stillbirth with heat exposure is double that of white women.
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