Global heating linked to early birth and damage to babies’ health, scientists find

Scientists discovered increased heat was linked to fast weight gain in babies, which increases the risk of obesity in later life. Higher temperatures were also linked to premature birth, which can have lifelong health effects, and to increased hospital admissions of young children. The researchers found that those in the hottest 5% of places in the state in the week before birth had a 16% higher risk of premature birth. The risk of any premature birth was 15% higher the day after these very hot days, the scientists found. “Air pollution [in Denmark] was low and almost entirely at levels deemed safe by the European Union,” said Wesselink.