Hot temperatures may be bad for brains, even young and healthy ones: Study
saaby/flickr

Hot temperatures may be bad for brains, even young and healthy ones: Study

"It's really shocking that we found such a significant effect on a population that is usually considered immune to these heat exposures"

A new study out of Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that high temperatures are linked to cognitive impairments, even in resilient populations.


Researchers at the university followed 44 college students who were living in dorms at a college in the greater Massachusetts area. Half of the students had air conditioning in the dorms, and half did not. Those with air conditioning performed better on cognitive tests, according to the study published today in PLOS Medicine.

"This is the first field study that found how heat waves impact the way young and healthy individuals are able to think," lead author Jose Guillermo Cedeño Laurent told Environmental Health News.

Students were followed via wearable monitors and surveyed from July 9-20, 2016, during five days that were considered a heat wave. Students were tested on their cognitive speed and working memory through two tests; one consisted of addition and subtraction, while the other made them identify the color of a word displayed on the screen.

The students who lived in the non-air conditioned dorms performed between 4.1 percent to 13.4 percent worse compared to the group of students in air conditioned dorms and their own scores prior to the heatwave.

These types of cognitive effects are usually found in vulnerable populations, like young children or the elderly. But the Harvard study showed that high temperatures can affect even those considered resilient to heat.

"It's really shocking that we found such a significant effect on a population that is usually considered immune to these heat exposures," Cedeño Laurent said.

The study raises new questions about adapting to warming climates, he said. Many older buildings in Massachusetts are built to handle harsher winter months, which means they can trap heat. It works in the winter, but it makes buildings that much hotter when a heat wave comes through the area, he said.

One of the implications of the study is figuring out how to cool buildings, without overdoing it, which can also cause cognitive impairments.

People spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, Cedeño Laurent added, meaning that buildings need to be adapted to account for higher temperatures from the changing climate. "These are the places where we live, where we learn, where we love, where we sleep," he said.

But it's not as simple as putting air conditioning units in every building, he said, because those units can leak chemicals—such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)— that add to climate change.

Instead, Cedeño Laurent suggests using a district cooling system, which is a centralized, more efficient way to cool buildings. Instead of installing air conditioning in each building, the district cooling system works similar to electricity, where there would a giant air conditioning unit that would be able cool several buildings.

This is something universities can do to bring air conditioning into buildings that don't currently have it. It's going to be implemented on one of Harvard's campuses, Cedeño Laurent said.

Silhouette of a person on a hill in front of a setting sun.

Major climate change reports vanish from US federal websites, raising transparency concerns

Federal climate reports that help communities plan for extreme weather and rising seas have quietly disappeared from public websites, with little explanation from the Trump administration.

Seth Borenstein reports for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
a scale with the words Truth/Facts and fake news on it

UN official calls for criminal penalties for fossil fuel disinformation and lobbying bans

The United Nations’ top climate and human rights expert urged governments to criminalize fossil fuel disinformation, ban industry lobbying and ads, and phase out oil, gas, and coal by 2030 to meet their legal obligations under international law.

Nina Lakhani reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
A ship near an iceberg.

EPA staffer’s offhand remark on climate funds fuels political firestorm after secret video sting

A midlevel U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employee was secretly recorded on a Tinder date by a Project Veritas operative, triggering political attacks and agency rollbacks based on a misrepresented comment about clean energy funding.

Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
silver and black electric oscillating fan in close up photography.
Credit: Roy Muz/Unsplash

Coal use drives sharp rise in U.S. power plant emissions amid summer heat

U.S. power plant emissions have surged to a three-year high, driven by a spike in coal use as utilities scramble to meet rising electricity demand during record summer heat and elevated natural gas prices.

Gavin Maguire reports for Reuters.

Keep reading...Show less
building with vegetation wall.

Cities are quietly outpacing nations in climate progress

Cities worldwide are cutting emissions, greening streets, and adapting to climate threats faster than national governments, according to a new international report.

Matt Simon reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
a herd of cows standing next to each other in a barn, confined in individual metal stalls.

California residents challenge methane policy they say pollutes under the guise of clean energy

Residents in California’s Central Valley are pushing back against a state-backed program that incentivizes methane digesters at industrial dairies, arguing it locks in pollution and worsens environmental health in Latino communities.

Ray Levy Uyeda reports for Prism.

Keep reading...Show less
New Mexico state flag with statue of lady justice, constitution and judges gavel on black drapery.

New Mexico groups take oil pollution case to state Supreme Court

A coalition of environmental, youth, and Indigenous groups is asking the New Mexico Supreme Court to revive a lawsuit claiming the state has failed its constitutional duty to protect residents from oil and gas pollution.

Kevin Hendricks reports for Santa Fe Reporter.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.