Women are particularly vulnerable to health impacts from environmental exposures due to physiological, hormonal, and socioeconomic factors, especially during pregnancy and later in life. These vulnerabilities related to climate change are expected to intensify as rising temperatures pose an increasing risk of complications during pregnancy, cardiovascular disease and mental disorders. Despite growing knowledge about heat-related health effects, there are still significant gaps in our knowledge of how these risks differ by population, life stage and geographical context.
The TEMPO project, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, deals with population health and its environmental determinants, in particular climate-related risk factors. TEMPO will investigate how ambient temperatures influence the risk and exposure of negative effects on pregnancy across Europe, taking into account environmental, demographic and socio-economic factors through a multi-scale spatial analysis.
With the creation of the "Temperature and Pregnancy Vulnerability Atlas", TEMPO will provide local and regional administrations, including those in Switzerland, with interactive tools to access data and climate risk profiles. This enables better preparation for climate-related shocks and disruptions and thus directly supports the Swiss National Adaptation Strategy and the EU Climate Change Adaptation Mission.
