Priyanka Chopra attends Armani fashion show in Paris

Highlights

• Over 3 million additional cases of stunting projected in south Asian children by 2050 due to climate change.
• Hot-humid conditions four times more harmful than heat alone during pregnancy's third trimester.
• Early and late pregnancy stages identified as most vulnerable periods for foetal development.

Climate change-driven heat and humidity could lead to more than three million additional cases of stunting among south Asia's children by 2050, according to a new study that highlights the severe health risks facing the world's most densely populated region.

Researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara examined how exposure to extremely hot and humid conditions during pregnancy impacts children's health, focusing on height-for-age measurements, a key indicator of chronic health status in children under five.