India, Oct. 5 -- Extreme heat has made pregnancy and birth a "new faultline" in the global climate crisis, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said on Monday. He cited a survey in which 73% of maternal health professionals, including those in India, reported a rise in heat-linked cases or complications over the past five years.

"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," Stiell said. He was speaking at the launch of the Birthright campaign on the first day of the Pre-COP ministerial meeting in Fiji.

The survey covered 1,000 maternal health professionals in Australia, Brazil, India, the UK ...