Effects of temperature exposures on early childhood cognitive development and home environment

Abstract

Daily exposure to suboptimal temperature with inadequate protection can undermine children’s development, but evidence is limited in the range of temperature and the set of developmental outcomes. Using a unique panel study in disadvantaged rural communities, we find that children’s exposures to low temperature undermine cognitive development during early childhood. In addition, caregiver–child interactions and material investments are lower for households exposed to low temperature, highlighting their limited capacity to adapt and the potential for persistent effects on children’s long-term outcomes through home environment. Our findings show the need to account for a broad range of temperature variations when promoting children’s development, and propose home environment as a novel policy channel to counter the negative temperature effects on children.