"Extreme heat is not only a major public health threat. We show that temperature fundamentally shapes human reproduction by influencing who is born and who is not born. Our findings indicate that temperature has measurable consequences for foetal survival and family planning behaviour, with implications for population composition and gender balance."
"Across five million births in 33 sub-Saharan African countries and India, the researchers found that temperatures above 20°C were associated with fewer male births. In sub-Saharan Africa, the decline in male births was linked to prenatal mortality driven by maternal heat stress. Over in India, however, the effects were found to appear later."
"[Sex ratios] reflect underlying patterns of maternal health, prenatal survival, and, in some contexts, gender discrimination. In recent decades, skewed sex ratios have raised concerns in several regions, particularly where son preference and sex-selective abortion are prevalent."
University of Oxford researchers analyzed over five million births across 33 sub-Saharan African countries and India to examine climate change's influence on sex ratios at birth. The study found that temperatures above 20°C consistently correlated with more girls being born compared to boys. In sub-Saharan Africa, this pattern resulted from prenatal mortality caused by maternal heat stress. India showed similar trends but through different mechanisms appearing later. The research demonstrates that temperature fundamentally affects human reproduction and foetal survival, with significant implications for population composition and gender balance as global temperatures rise.
Read at Mail Online
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