Climate Change Makes Us Dumber

written by 10210 Park Jiwoo

As the world gets hotter, climate change is affecting people in a way that many haven’t thought of: people’s brains.

Climate change indicates a phenomenon where the global climate, such as the average temperature and precipitation, is going through a change.

This has been ongoing since the late 19th century, the point when, according to NASA Science, the planet’s average temperature began to rise 1° Celsius per year.

How Is Academic Performance Affected?

Among the numerous problems climate change has caused, one unfortunate fact is that it gives rise to changes in students’ academic scores.

The reason behind this is relatively simple. The opportunities for receiving education declined due to the extreme climate and increasingly dangerous natural phenomena.


As stated in the report “Education and Climate Change” from UNESCO, approximately 75% of schools were closed due to extreme weather events over the past 20 years, impacting more than 5 million people.

Cyclone Gita hit in Tonga in 2018. In 2019, Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique. Both cyclones caused widespread damage.

Cyclone Gita damaged 72% of schools. Cyclone Idai destroyed over 3,400 classrooms. This phenomenon deprived countless students of a proper education.

Along with countries along the equator, countries located away from it are no exception in this situation.

UNESCO mentioned that in the United States, an increase of 1° Celsius led to a reduction in students’ test scores by 1% in schools that did not have air conditioning.

Another study conducted by the National Research Foundation of Korea revealed that an additional day with a daily temperature exceeding 34°C decreased the scores in math and English by 0.002–0.005 standard deviations.

The increase in the temperature due to climate change has decreased the time people spend on learning and receiving education in schools, therefore causing a shift in students’ learning routines.

What’s Happening to Our Intelligence?

A different matter to be concerned about is the direct impact on students’ cognitive abilities. The climate change worsening day by day implies that the CO2 levels in greenhouse gas are becoming greater.

Since the emissions are included in the air we breathe, it is no wonder that the rise in the greenhouse gas proportion has an impact on people’s brains.

A study from University College London revealed that higher amounts of CO2 will unavoidably lead to intellectual deterioration, affecting people’s memory, concentration and decision-making as well as strategic capabilities.

This can be easily understood when imagining a situation where a classroom without sufficient ventilation makes students more lethargic and less efficient when finishing a task.

However, this is deemed different from temporary CO2 intake from gas since the excessive level of CO2 existing in the atmosphere and the increase of it due to climate change is permanent and is likely to make this problem widespread in the years to come.

What Are the Current Efforts?

Currently, governments and organizations can seek other available approaches to mitigate the impact of climate change, such as promoting a better educational environment.

The World Bank is currently working on its project, Global Program for Safer Schools (GPSS), to address the problems of damage in school buildings and changes in students’ learning environment.

Between 2014 and 2023, GPSS has benefitted over 121 million students in around 564,000 schools.

In 2023, over 600 classrooms were reconstructed with climate-resilient technical criteria such as cyclone-resistant and flood-resilient designs.

Our Critical Issue: Climate Change

If the amount of greenhouse gasses doesn’t decline and climate change continues to worsen, significant changes to our learning are inevitable.

Globally, we should seek practical ways to reduce the impact these problems are having on students.

After all, a change, when met with an opposing force, can lead to a whole different situation.