Climate Change Might Dull Children's Intellectual Growth

TUESDAY, Dec. 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Climate change could pose a threat to children’s intellectual development, a new study says.

Kids growing up under higher-than-usual temperatures – average temps above 86 degrees Fahrenheit – are less likely to meet developmental milestones for literacy and mathematics, researchers reported Dec. 8 in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

“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,” lead researcher Jorge Cuartas, an assistant professor of applied psychology at New York University, said in a news release.

For the study, researchers analyzed data for more than 19,600 3- and 4-year olds in the African nations of Gambia, Madagascar, Malawi and Sierra Leone; in Georgia, a nation on the Black Sea; and in Palestine.

The team compared information on the children’s education, health, nutrition and sanitation against data on average monthly temperatures, to assess any potential links between heat exposure and early childhood development.

Results showed that children exposed to average maximums above 86 degrees F were 5% to nearly 7% less likely to meet basic developmental milestones for reading, writing and math, compared to kids exposed to temps lower than 79 degrees.

These effects were more pronounced among kids from poor households, those who lacked access to clean water and those living in urban areas.

“While heat exposure has been linked 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,” Cuartas said.

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

More information

Harvard University has more on early childhood development and climate change.

SOURCE: New York University, news release, Dec. 8, 2025