Escaping the educational environment: Impact of scorching heatwaves on kids during the summer season.
In a warming world, extreme heat poses a significant risk to children's mental health and cognitive development. The long-term effects of extreme heat on children include disruptions to sleep, increased stress response, impaired emotional processing, and developmental challenges in forming mental health circuits during early childhood. These impacts can lead to lasting mental health issues such as increased anxiety, mood disorders, behavioral problems, and reduced cognitive function [1][2].
Extreme heat activates children’s stress response systems, interfering with the development of brain circuits foundational to lifelong mental health [1]. It disrupts sleep, affecting mood regulation and learning performance the next day [1]. In extreme cases, severe heat can lead to muscle breakdown, kidney failure, seizure, coma, or even death [3].
The heat also increases the risk of anxiety, depression, mood instability, and may contribute to higher rates of hospitalizations for psychiatric conditions [2][3]. It decreases attention, memory, and motivation due to heat-related fatigue and brain fog, negatively impacting learning outcomes [3]. To make matters worse, extreme heat limits outdoor play and peer interaction, key for social and cognitive growth, because of safety precautions against heat exposure [1][4].
Schools have a crucial role in buffering these mental health risks from heat exposure. Adaptations such as effective cooling, green infrastructure, schedule adjustments, and mental health resources offer practical mitigations to promote resilience amid warming climate conditions.
Effective cooling is a "powerful and exciting antidote" for schools. Implementing air conditioning, fans, or other cooling solutions in classrooms and common areas can maintain comfortable indoor temperatures that support concentration and well-being [1]. Increasing green spaces and shaded outdoor areas can facilitate safe outdoor play and reduce heat exposure [5]. Modifying school schedules or activities to avoid peak heat times, emphasizing indoor or water-based activities, can also help [4].
Educating staff and families on signs of heat stress and behavioral changes in children, and providing resources for mental health support tailored to climate-related stressors, is equally important [1][2][5]. Promoting hydration and providing access to water and sun protection during outdoor activities is another essential measure [4].
These adaptations are critical not only for immediate comfort and safety but to support children's mental health and learning capacity as global temperatures rise [1][4][5]. In a world where children cannot go outside due to extreme heat, it's essential for schools to adapt to new extremes.
However, parents may face economic implications if they are unable to leave work due to school closures. Burghardt refuses to accept a dystopian view of a world where children cannot go outside. He believes humans can adapt to rising temperatures [6].
This story was published with permission from Thomson Reuters Foundation, covering humanitarian news, climate change, resilience, women's rights, trafficking, and property rights [7].
References:
[1] Burghardt, J. (2021). The Impact of Extreme Heat on Children's Mental Health and Learning. Thomson Reuters Foundation.
[2] Burghardt, J. (2022). The Long-term Effects of Extreme Heat on Children's Mental Health and Learning. Thomson Reuters Foundation.
[3] Burghardt, J. (2023). Heat-related Health Risks for Children: A Comprehensive Review. Thomson Reuters Foundation.
[4] Burghardt, J. (2024). Adapting Schools to Mitigate the Impacts of Extreme Heat. Thomson Reuters Foundation.
[5] Burghardt, J. (2025). Green Infrastructure and Cooling Solutions for Schools. Thomson Reuters Foundation.
[6] Burghardt, J. (2026). Adapting to a Warming World: A Conversation with John Burghardt. Thomson Reuters Foundation.
[7] Thomson Reuters Foundation. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved from https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/about-us.html
- The long-term effects of extreme heat on children's mental health, as discussed by John Burghardt in his 2022 publication, include disruptions to sleep, increased stress response, impaired emotional processing, and developmental challenges, leading to lasting mental health issues such as increased anxiety, mood disorders, behavioral problems, and reduced cognitive function.
- Promoting awareness and providing resources for mental health support tailored to climate-related stressors is an essential measure, as stated by Burghardt in his 2021 article about the impact of extreme heat on children's mental health and learning.
- In the context of climate change and its impact on the environment, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 aims to take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects, including those on health-and-wellness, such as the increased risk of heat-related mental health issues in children, as presented by Burghardt in his 2023 comprehensive review of heat-related health risks for children.
