Climate Change Linked to Over 4% of Newborn Deaths in Low and Middle-Income Countries: Study

A study examining 29 low- and middle-income countries across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia has revealed alarming findings about the impact of climate change on newborn deaths. Researchers, including those from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany, found that over 4% of newborn deaths in these countries were linked to extreme temperatures driven by climate change.

Between 2001 and 2019, researchers analyzed data showing that on average, 1.5% of annual newborn deaths were attributable to extreme heat, while nearly 3% were linked to extreme cold. Climate change was identified as a significant factor, accounting for 32% of heat-related newborn deaths during this period, totaling more than 175,000 deaths.

Interestingly, the study also highlighted that climate change reduced the risk of newborn deaths related to cold temperatures by more than 30%, resulting in approximately 457,000 fewer deaths. These findings were published in the journal Nature Communications.

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The research underscored that across the 29 countries studied, average yearly temperatures rose by 0.9 degrees Celsius from 2001 to 2019, a change directly attributed to climate change. Sub-Saharan African nations were particularly vulnerable, experiencing the most pronounced effects of global warming on newborn mortality linked to extreme temperatures.

Among the countries with the highest rates of newborn deaths overall and temperature-related deaths per 100,000 live births were Pakistan, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. Data sourced from nationally-representative Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) provided insights into more than 40,000 newborn deaths.

Newborns are especially susceptible to temperature extremes due to their immature temperature regulation systems, high metabolism, and low sweating rates, which hinder effective heat dissipation.

Globally, newborn deaths accounted for nearly half of all deaths in children under five years old in 2019, with over 90% occurring in low- and middle-income countries, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions to mitigate the impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations, particularly newborns in resource-limited settings.

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