Is Global Warming Is Making Us Stupider?

It is bad enough that global warming may be slowly killing out planet, but what if the hotter it gets, the dumber we become in dealing with it? If a recent study is correct, that may be the case. According to Harvard researchers in n a PLOS Medicine article, the human brain functions 13 percent slower when it has to operate in extreme heat.

The team from Harvard’s T.H. Chan school of Public Health studied the impact of students in non-air-conditioned buildings on both math and memory tests in comparison to their classmates in air-conditioned buildings. (I assume that this was not a self-selecting group of students too stupid to move to air-conditioned areas).

Notably, the scientists actually refer climate changes in their general findings:

“Cognitive function deficits resulting from indoor thermal conditions during HWs [heat waves] extend beyond vulnerable populations. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating sustainable adaptation measures in buildings to preserve educational attainment, economic productivity, and safety in light of a changing climate.”

Of course, at the point of the no return of climate change, ignorance might be bliss.