4% newborn deaths linked to climate change in lower income countries: Study

Over four per cent of newborn deaths are related to high and low temperatures, driven by climate change, according to a research looking at 29 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

Of the four per cent, on average, 1.5 per cent of annual newborn deaths across these countries were linked to extreme heat, while nearly three per cent were linked to extreme cold, said researchers who studied the data between 2001-2019.

Further, 32 per cent of all heat-related deaths in newborn babies over the period 2001-2019, amounting to more than 1.75 lakh deaths, were attributed to climate change, estimated an international team of researchers, including those from Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany.

Climate change was also found to be responsible to lowering the risk of newborn death related to cold temperatures by over 30 per cent, amounting to 4.57 lakh fewer newborn deaths. The findings are published in the journal Nature ...