Over the last decade, the climate change crisis has intensified, marked by unprecedented temperature increases leading to more frequent and severe extreme weather events. Unseasonal heat waves, flash floods, cloud bursts, intense thunderstorms, and cyclones have become alarmingly common, underscoring the urgent need for global climate action. Climate change is a pervasive global phenomenon that affects all aspects of life.

Since April 2024, wide areas of south and south-east Asia, from Pakistan to the Philippines, have experienced prolonged extreme heat. Covering some of the most densely populated regions in the world, the series of heatwaves has affected everything from human health and well-being to the economy and education.

As Africa gets hotter, mothers and babies are most at risk. Why is this and what can be done about it? Matthew Chersich, a specialist in climate change and maternal health, explains the reasons to health editor Nadine Dreyer.

  Three-quarters of annual rain in the Himalayas arrives in the monsoon season from June to September. Within this rainy period are sudden and extremely intense cloudbursts, which often “pop” over a relatively small area (akin to a cloud bursting open like a balloon). As climate change is making these