How emissions from thawing permafrost reshape carbon budgets
1 August 2025
Speech: Integrating Nature-Based Solutions into France’s Water Security Strategy
1 August 2025
By Gabriela PENA
Climate change has been described as the “biggest global health threat of the 21st century”. Yet, health policies have not been designed with these risks in mind and are insufficient to address the increasing number of climate-related illnesses. These impacts are unequally distributed, as climate change exacerbates existing geographic and socioeconomic vulnerabilities, such as access to healthcare and clean water. As a result, women’s health faces greater and specific risks, especially in low- and middle-income countries, where 70% of people living below the poverty line are women.
Firstly, the impacts of climate change increase the risk of sexual violence against women, severely affecting their physical and mental health, particularly when they must travel long distances to access water. Drought-aggravated longer distances also result in prolonged exposure to extreme heat, leading to heat stress that disproportionately impacts pregnant women. This stress significantly heightens the risk of fetal growth restriction and congenital anomalies. Furthermore, each 1°C rise in maternal heat exposure is linked to a 27–42% increase in the likelihood of miscarriage or stillbirth. A meta-analysis also found that the odds of preterm birth increase by 5% for every 1°C rise in average temperature, and by 15% during heatwaves, with postpartum depression rates reaching up to 40% among women who experience preterm deliveries.
Secondly, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases linked to poor air quality disproportionately impact women, as exposure to fine particulate matter is strongly associated with coronary heart disease mortality, particularly among them. In countries like India, for instance, the use of biomass for cooking exposes women to higher levels of indoor air pollution, significantly increasing their risk of lung cancer. During pregnancy, physiological changes such as increased oxygen intake and blood circulation heighten the absorption and distribution of pollutants throughout the mother’s body. These pollutants can cross the placenta, posing serious threats to both maternal and neonatal health, including preterm birth, hypertensive disorders, postpartum depression, and infant mortality.
An intersectional perspective reveals that the most affected are women living in poverty, who face compounded inequalities that severely constrain their adaptive capacity, especially in regions where public health systems are ill-equipped to meet climate-related challenges. In the United States, for example, Black and Hispanic women are more likely to live near highways and fossil fuel industries, increasing their exposure to both air pollution and extreme heat.
Given these realities, the implementation of robust climate mitigation policies is urgently needed to strengthen health systems, particularly for pregnant women, who embody the future. At the same time, adaptation policies must be designed to avoid maladaptation through long-term planning and implementation, supported by local authorities. Inclusive adaptation strategies must incorporate a gender-sensitive approach. The WHO should develop a dedicated Global Strategy on Climate and Health with a Gender Perspective, setting concrete goals, indicators, and evidence-based recommendations informed by local data. This strategy should serve as a guiding framework for health ministries to integrate gender-responsive measures into national adaptation plans. Key actions could include replacing biomass with clean cookstoves through targeted subsidies, investing in community water infrastructure, enhancing medical training, promoting safe home ventilation strategies, and strengthening nutritional security. These efforts must also promote women’s leadership in decision-making spaces, shifting the narrative from women as victims to women as active agents of adaptation. Protecting women’s health is a powerful catalyst for advancing climate justice.
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