On New York University Week: Excessive heat can have consequences for children.

Jorge Cuartas, Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology, determines why.

Faculty Bio:

Jorge Cuartas is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology at NYU Steinhardt and the director of the Catalyzing Action for Resilient Ecologies (CARE) lab. He holds a Ph.D. in Human Development, Learning, and Teaching from Harvard University, an Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University, an M.Sc. in Economics from Universidad de los Andes, and a B.Sc. in Economics from Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano.Dr. Cuartas’ research program lies at the nexus of developmental psychology, economics, and public health and examines:the promotion of resilience and positive developmental trajectories across the life course, globally;the developmental consequences and prevention of violence against children;the design, implementation, and evaluation of parenting and early childhood programs and policies;the intersections between climate change and the science of human development.His research is informed by interdisciplinary theory and employs advanced quantitative methods, including econometrics, psychometrics, and meta-analytic approaches. His work has been published in The Lancet, Nature Human Behaviour, Nature Mental Health, The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, The Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, Child Development, Developmental Science, Child Development Perspectives, and Developmental Psychology, among others. He has received numerous awards and fellowships for his work, including the Jacobs Foundation Research Fellowship, the American Psychological Association (APA) Developmental Psychology’s Early Career Outstanding Paper Award, APA’s Dissertation Award in Developmental Psychology, the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Victoria S. Levin Award, the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship, SRCD’s Patrice L. Engle Dissertation Grant for Global Early Child Development, the Early Childhood Development Action Network’s (ECDAN) Knowledge Fellowship, and the Science and Innovation Fellowship from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Before joining NYU, Dr. Cuartas served as a Consultant for UNICEF, the World Bank, the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), Parenting for Lifelong Health, and the Colombian Government. He is also a researcher at the Centro de Estudios sobre Seguridad y Drogas (CESED) at Universidad de los Andes.

Transcript:

When we think about climate change, we often picture melting glaciers or rising seas. But in my research, I focus on something closer to home: how heat affects young children’s development.Early childhood is a critical window for brain development and cognitive, social, and emotional skills. I wanted to know whether growing up in hotter environments could quietly shape these foundational skills.To answer this, I combined large-scale child development data with temperature records for nearly twenty thousand three- and four-year olds across six countries—Gambia, Georgia, Madagascar, Malawi, Palestine, and Sierra Leone. This allowed me to track how much heat children were exposed to from birth.What we found was striking. Children exposed to temperatures that were hotter than what is typical for the region where they live—especially if such atypical temperatures were above about 86 degrees Fahrenheit—were less likely to be developmentally on track. The strongest effects showed up in early literacy and numeracy, the basic skills that support learning later in life. In other words, heat doesn’t just make children uncomfortable; it may interfere with how they learn and develop.These effects were not evenly distributed. Children from poorer households, those living in urban areas, and those without reliable access to clean water and sanitation were hit hardest. This shows that heat exposure can amplify pre-existing disparities that tend to persist and even grow across the life course.As the world gets hotter, more children are growing up in conditions that may limit their potential before they ever step into a classroom.The good news is that this is preventable. Investments in cooling, water access, heat-resilient infrastructure and parenting support programs—especially for vulnerable families—can help protect children’s development. If we want children to thrive in a warming world, climate adaptation needs to start early.

Read More:

[NYU] - Excessive Heat Harms Young Children’s Development, Study Suggests

[The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry] - Ambient heat and early childhood development: a cross-national analysis

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit academicminute.substack.com

Jorge Cuartas, New York University - Excessive Heat Harms Young Children's Development

The Academic Minute

Jorge Cuartas, New York University - Excessive Heat Harms Young Children's Development