School heatwaves are eroding students' ability to learn, studies show

A comprehensive study of 14.5 million students across 61 countries reveals that prolonged exposure to heat negatively impacts learning, with heat waves becoming more frequent. This exacerbates educational inequalities, potentially affecting graduation rates and cognitive abilities as global temperatures rise. Complex tasks like math are more susceptible to heat's detrimental effects than simpler ones like reading. In the U.S., long-term heat exposure has been linked to an 11% reduction in math scores. Lower-income students disproportionately attend schools with insufficient air conditioning compared to their wealthier counterparts. Without adaptation measures, a projected temperature increase in the U.S. by 2050 could significantly lower elementary students' performance on standardized tests. However, increasing air conditioning use has proven effective in mitigating these cognitive impacts. One study suggests that every degree Fahrenheit increase in school year temperature without air conditioning reduces learning by one percent. Upgrading school HVAC systems to meet rising cooling demands is estimated to cost over $4.4 billion nationwide. A significant portion of American students attend schools in "urban heat zones," where surrounding environments amplify heat by at least 8°F.