Rising temperature likely to affect key aspects of childhood development

by Ayurveda Admin

A study reveals that increasing temperatures is likely to slow main aspects of childhood development. Already climate change has been affecting human health and ecosystems.

The study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, reports that children who experienced unusually warm conditions, specifically average maximum temperatures above 86 °F (30 °C), were less likely to reach expected literacy and numeracy milestones when compared to children living in cooler environments.

"While heat exposure has been lined to negative physical and mental health outcomes across the life course, this study provides a new insight that excessive heat negatively impacts young children's development across diverse countries," says lead author Jorge Cuartas, assistant professor of applied psychology at NYU Steinhardt. "Because early development lays the foundation for lifelong learning, physical and mental health, and overall well-being, these findings should alert researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to the urgent need to protect children's development in a warming world."

Large International Dataset Reveals Clear Patterns

On examination of information from 19,607 children between the ages of three and four from Gambia, Georgia, Madagascar, Malawi, Palestine, and Sierra Leone, Cuartas and his team explored the potential links between heat exposure and early development.

These countries were chosen because they provide detailed data on child development, household living conditions, and climate, allowing researchers to estimate the amount of heat each child experienced. Children in economically disadvantaged households, homes with limited access to clean water, and densely populated urban areas showed the strongest impacts.

The team used the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI), which tracks milestones in four areas: reading and number-related skills (literacy and numeracy), social-emotional development, approaches to learning, and physical development. The researchers combined ECDI information with 2017-2020 data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), which include demographic and well-being indicators such as education, health, nutrition, and sanitation and merged them with climate records.

Higher Temperatures Linked to Missed Milestones

The researchers found that children who experienced average maximum temperatures above 86 °F (30 °C) were 5 to 6.7 percent less likely to meet basic literacy and numeracy benchmarks than children exposed to temperatures below 78.8 °F during the same season and in the same region.

"We urgently need more research to identify the mechanisms that explain these effects and the factors that either protect children or heighten their vulnerability. Such work will help pinpoint concrete targets for policies and interventions that strengthen preparedness, adaptation, and resilience as climate change intensifies," says Cuartas.