Dhaka, Oct. 5 -- Extreme heat is putting pregnant women and newborns at growing risk as the climate crisis intensifies, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell has warned.

Stiell made the remarks on Monday at the launch of the Birthright campaign on the opening day of the Pre-COP ministerial meeting in Fiji, the Hindustan Times reports.

"The picture is clear and very disturbing. As extreme heat worsens, pregnancy and birth are now a new faultline in the global climate crisis, and one which is potentially fatal," he said.

Stiell cited findings from a survey of 1,000 maternal health professionals across Australia, Brazil, India, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.

The survey found that 73 percent had seen an increase in heat-rel...