EC Gynaecology

Editorial Volume 14 Issue 1 - 2025

Changing Climate and it's Impact on Women

Shalini Malhotra*

Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Al Qassimi Women and Children Hospital, Sharjah, Emirates Health Services Establishment, UAE

*Corresponding Author: Shalini Malhotra, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Al Qassimi Women and Children Hospital, Sharjah, Emirates Health Services Establishment, UAE.
Received: December 16, 2024; Published: December 30, 2024



Introduction

Climate change, today, is a serious global problem affecting people from all walks of life, along with being a health threat multiplier [1]. Each decade after 1850 has seen the earth, warming up by 0.06 degrees Celsius, with an accelerated rise particularly after 1982. According to the 2023 global climate report from NOAA (National Centres for Environmental Information), 2014 to 2023 have been the 10 warmest years [2]. Children born after 1980 have been more vulnerable than older generations to the higher temperatures and resulting natural disasters, which have unfortunately, become more frequent, impacting human life like never before. For example, children born in 2020 are more likely experience a drought, crop failures, river floods, and four times more heat waves than those born in 1960 [3].

  1. Costello A., et al. “Lancet and University College London Institute for Global Health Commission. Managing the health effects of climate change”. Lancet9676 (2009): 1693-1733.
  2. NOAA (National Centres for Environmental Information 2024) Annual 2023 Global Climate report (2024).
  3. Thiery W., et al. “Intergenerational inequities in exposure to climate extremes”. Science 6564 (2021): 158-160.
  4. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2021: The physical science basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom (2021).
  5. Rylander C., et al. “Climate change and the potential effects on maternal and pregnancy outcomes: An assessment of the most vulnerable-The mother, fetus, and newborn child”. Global Health Action 6 (2013): 19538-19538.
  6. Jerneck A. “What about gender in climate change? Twelve feminist lessons from development”. Sustainability3 (2018): 627.
  7. Langer A., et al. “Women and health: The key for sustainable development”. The Lancet9999 (2015): 1165-1210.
  8. United Nations. “Gender and climate change brief for the adaptation committee” (2020).
  9. Olson DM and Metz GAS. “Climate change is a major stressor causing poor pregnancy outcomes and child development”. F1000Research 9 (2020): F1000 Faculty Rev-1222.
  10. Zhang Y., et al. “Temperature exposure during pregnancy and birth outcomes: An updated systematic review of epidemiological evidence”. Environmental Pollution 225 (2017): 700-712.
  11. McElroy S., et al. “Extreme heat, preterm birth, and stillbirth: A global analysis across 14 lower-middle income countries”. Environment International 158 (2022): 106902.
  12. Ye T., et al. “Heat exposure, preterm birth, and the role of greenness in Australia”. JAMA Pediatrics 4 (2024): 376-383.
  13. Dalugoda Y., et al. “Effect of elevated ambient temperature on maternal, foetal, and neonatal outcomes: A scoping review”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health3 (2022): 1771.
  14. Canelón SP and Boland MR. “A systematic literature review of factors affecting the timing of Menarche: The potential for climate change to impact women's health”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 5 (2020): 1703.
  15. The Silent Impact of Climate Change on Menstrual Health.
  16. Reducing prenatal exposure to toxic environmental agents. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 832. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Obstetrics and Gynecology 1 (2021): e40-e54.

Shalini Malhotra. "Changing Climate and it's Impact on Women". EC Gynaecology 14.1 (2025): 01-04.