Preterm birth risk to increase by 60% from exposure to extreme temperatures: Study

New Delhi, February 22 

Exposure to extreme temperatures driven by climate change will increase risk of preterm birth by 60%, causing several lifelong complications for millions of children around the world, a new research has found.

Analysing results from 163 health studies globally, researchers said they have determined that climate change will be directly responsible for multiple detrimental health impacts in children, including higher occurrences of respiratory illnesses and more hospitalisations.

The researchers, led by those at The University of Western Australia, warned that lack of global action on climate change will likely devastate children’s health for generations.

They said their study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, was the first to collect all the available scientific evidence for the effects of climate change on children’s health.

The team also said they have distinguished which particular climate-driven extremes were linked to what kind of health impacts in future generations.

“The children’s health issues we identified depend on weather extremes — cold extremes give rise to respiratory diseases, while drought and extreme rainfall can result in stunted growth for a population,” said study author Corey Bradshaw from Flinders University, Australia.

The team said that most of the studies they analysed were in high-income nations, despite the fact that children in lower-income countries are most likely to go without adequate access to healthcare, infrastructure, and stable food supply.

Their study revealed that even advanced economies would not avoid the impacts of climate change on children’s health, even as they said health risks varied across continents and socio-economic circumstances.

Given that climate influences childhood disease, social and financial costs will continue to rise as climate change progresses, placing increasing pressure on families and health services.

“For example, asthma has been estimated to cost as much as USD 1.5 billion due to a single fire season in the future, while another study estimated the costs of a single case of childhood asthma at up to USD 23,573 in the coming years,” said Bradshaw.

Geography too dictated the health impacts of climate change, the researchers found. While extreme temperatures have led to higher preterm births in Australia’s East Coast, Northern Territory, and Western Australia and enhanced respiratory issues in Queensland, similar temperatures have increased mortality rates in South Africa, they said.

Action in terms of developing public health policies to counter these climate-related diseases, alongside efforts to reduce anthropogenic climate change, is required to protect current and future children, said lead researcher Lewis Weeda from The University of Western Australia.

“Finding solutions and implementing climate adaptation and mitigation policies would positively impact multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Climate change is universal and adversely affecting all countries and people, and we must prepare societies for mounting threats to child health,” said Weeda.