New York University found that children exposed to heat of more than 30 degrees have difficulties in subjects such as literacy and arithmetic.
MADRID, December 10 (EUROPA PRESS).- The child development early is key to learning, health and
well-being of young children, and now science shows an unexpected factor that can interfere: the extreme heat. And study International reveals that high temperatures make it difficult for children to reach essential milestones in literacy and numeracy.
How extreme heat slows children’s development
An investigation on children of three and four years in different countries examined the impact of temperature in childhood milestones, according to experts from New York University (United States).
The study, published in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatryfound that children exposed to higher than usual temperatures (specifically, average maximum temperatures above 86°F [30 °C]) were less likely to meet developmental milestones in literacy and numeracy, compared to children living in areas with lower temperatures.
“While heat exposure has been linked to negative physical and mental health consequences throughout life, this study offers a new perspective: excessive heat negatively affects the development of young children in various countries,” said lead author Jorge Cuartas, assistant professor of applied psychology at NYU Steinhardt.
“Given that 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 child development in a warming world,” he adds.
Protect children from climate change
Cuartas and her co-authors analyzed data from 19,607 three- and four-year-old children from Gambia, Georgia, Madagascar, Malawi, Palestine and Sierra Leone, selected because they had detailed data on child development, household factors and climate, allowing the researchers to estimate children’s exposure to different temperatures.
To assess child development, researchers used the Early Childhood Development Index (ITDI), which measures basic developmental milestones in four areas: reading and number skills (literacy and numeracy), social-emotional development, approaches to learning, and physical development.
Protect children from climate change
They also used data from the 2017-2020 period from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), a database with demographic information and well-being indicators, such as education,
health, nutrition and sanitation.
By combining the IDIT and MICS data with climate data on mean monthly temperatures, they determined whether there was any relationship between heat exposure and early childhood development.
They found that children exposed to average maximum temperatures above 30°C were between five percent and 6.7 percent less likely to achieve basic developmental milestones in literacy and numeracy, compared to children exposed to temperatures below 25°C in the same region and season. These effects were most pronounced among children from economically disadvantaged households, households with less access to drinking water, and from urban areas.
“We urgently need more research to identify the mechanisms that explain these effects and the factors that protect children or increase their vulnerability. This work will help define concrete objectives for policies and interventions that strengthen preparedness, adaptation and resilience as climate change intensifies,” concludes Cuartas.