Climate change is having a direct and deadly impact on newborn babies in the world's poorest countries, according to alarming new research. A study published in Nature Communications on June 29, 2024 reveals that rising global temperatures driven by climate change were responsible for nearly one-third of heat-related neonatal deaths in low and middle-income countries between 2001 and 2019.
The comprehensive analysis, led by researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), examined data from 29 low and middle-income countries to assess how climate change is affecting neonatal mortality rates. The findings paint a stark picture of how warming temperatures are putting the lives of society's most vulnerable at risk.
The study found that climate change was responsible for 32% of heat-related neonatal deaths over the 18-year period examined. At the same time, warming temperatures reduced cold-related neonatal deaths by 30%. Overall, 4.3% of all neonatal deaths during this time were attributable to non-optimal temperatures, highlighting how sensitive newborns are to temperature extremes.
Interestingly, the research revealed that while neonates are generally more vulnerable to cold than heat, the very youngest babies aged 0-1 days appear to be at higher risk of death from heat-related causes. This underscores the critical importance of temperature control in the hours and days immediately following birth.
The impacts of climate change on neonatal mortality were not evenly distributed across countries. Nations in sub-Saharan Africa saw the most pronounced effects, with both the largest increases in heat-related deaths and the biggest reductions in cold-related mortality. Countries like Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Liberia and Haiti experienced the greatest increases in heat-related neonatal deaths, with rates rising by 30 per 100,000 live births.
Some of the most striking statistics emerged from individual countries. In the Philippines, Haiti and Rwanda, climate change was responsible for a staggering 70-79% of heat-related neonatal deaths. Pakistan, Mali, Sierra Leone and Nigeria had the highest overall neonatal mortality rates at 160 deaths per 100,000 live births.
The study's lead author, Asya Dimitrova of PIK, noted that moderately hot and cold temperatures, rather than extreme heat or cold, were responsible for the largest share of temperature-related neonatal deaths across all locations studied. This highlights the broad impacts of even modest temperature changes on infant health.
These findings underscore the urgent need for public health interventions to protect newborns in low and middle-income countries from both high and low ambient temperatures. With 2.3 million children dying in the first 20 days of life globally in 2022, addressing the impacts of climate change on neonatal health must be a priority. The stark reality is that a child's chances of survival in the critical neonatal period are still heavily influenced by where they are born, with sub-Saharan Africa and southern and central Asia bearing the heaviest burden of newborn deaths.
As our planet continues to warm, protecting the most vulnerable members of society from the health impacts of climate change will be an increasingly urgent challenge. This research makes clear that climate action is not just an environmental imperative, but a matter of life and death for millions of newborns in the world's poorest countries.
