India has made strong progress in maternal health over the last two decades. More women now deliver in health facilities and antenatal care coverage has risen, largely thanks to the work of ASHA workers. However, climate change is creating new heat‑related challenges that could erode these gains.
Key Developments
- Climate analysis by Climate Central shows India now faces six additional pregnancy heat‑risk days each year.
- In Mumbai, 26 extra heat‑risk days were recorded over a five‑year span.
- A 2024 review in Nature Medicine (covering 198 studies) found heatwaves raise the risk of preterm birth by 26%.
- India already has one of the world’s highest preterm‑birth burdens – roughly one in six babies are born before term.
- More than one million ASHAs continue to work long hours in extreme heat, often without adequate protection.
Important Facts
Heat exposure is linked not only to preterm birth but also to miscarriage, low birth weight and stillbirth. When temperatures become unbearable, health‑worker visits are delayed, leading to gaps in pregnancy monitoring and health records. These impacts are rarely captured in climate statistics, yet they are direct climate‑health outcomes.
Current governance treats heat as a disaster‑management issue, climate change as an environmental issue, and maternal health as a health‑sector issue, creating parallel systems that do not coordinate. This fragmentation leaves pregnant women and frontline workers exposed to multiple, overlapping risks.
Exam Relevance
Understanding the intersection of climate change and public health is essential for GS 4 (Health) and GS 3 (Environment & Disaster Management). Questions may ask about the impact of extreme weather on vulnerable groups, the role of community health workers, or policy measures needed to build climate‑resilient health systems.
Way Forward
- Amend