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Children who grow up in extremes Heat They are less likely to reach key developmental milestones for reading and arithmetic, a new study shows.
research, from New York UniversityIt turns out that global warming Human development can be harmed from an early stage and this not only affects physical health.
The study found that children who were exposed to average temperatures above 30 degrees were 5 to about 7 percent less likely to meet the developmental milestone than children exposed to temperatures below 30 degrees.
These results were most pronounced in children from economically disadvantaged families, those lacking access to clean water, and in urban areas.
George Cuartas, assistant professor of applied psychology at NYU Steinhardt and lead author of the study, said the research provides important new insight into the negative impact of extreme heat on the development of children around the world.
Researchers examined data from more than 19,600 3- and 4-year-old children in Georgia in Europe, Palestine in the Middle East, and Gambia, Madagascar, Malawi and Sierra Leone in Africa.
They assessed each child’s development based on the Early Childhood Development Index, which measures growth in reading, writing, math, social-emotional skills, physical development and attitudes to learning.
These were analyzed along with population information and other markers of well-being such as education, health, nutrition and sanitation that may influence the findings.
“Although heat exposure is associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes across the lifespan, this study provides new insight into how extreme heat has a negative impact on the development of young children in different countries,” said Professor Cuartas.
“Since early development lays the foundation for lifelong learning, physical and mental health, and overall well-being, these findings should alert researchers, policy makers, and practitioners to the urgent need to protect children’s development in a warming world,” they said.
“We urgently need more research to identify the mechanisms that explain these impacts and the factors that either protect children or increase their vulnerability. Such work will help set concrete targets for policies and interventions that strengthen preparedness, adaptation and resilience Climate change It gets intense.”
According to Save the Children, 766 million children – or a third of the child population – were exposed to extreme heat waves by June 2024. One in five children – or 466 million – currently live in areas that experience at least twice as many extremely hot days each year compared to the 1960s.