The impact of climate change on cognitive performance of children in English school stock: A simulation study

Children in England spend around 30% of their time in schools to gain knowledge and skills. Climate change could impact schools’ thermal environments and children’s learning performance by impairing their cognitive ability. This study presents an evaluation approach to investigating and quantifying climate change’s impact on the cognitive performance of children across English school stocks. The study also evaluates the potential of possible strategies for mitigating the impacts of climate change. The results show that future climates are projected to increase cognitive performance loss of children in school archetypes representative of school stocks, with variations based on regional climate characteristics. Increasing ventilation rates proves to be an effective means of reducing cognitive performance loss, while its effectiveness diminishes as outdoor temperatures rise in the future. Thus, the introduction of air conditioning becomes a potentially more beneficial strategy, despite the associated increase in cooling energy demand. Moreover, higher ventilation rates in air-conditioned classrooms can further improve children’s cognitive performance. The use of cognitive performance loss as a Key Perfor mance Indicator (KPI) allows for better communication and understanding of climate change risks faced by schools among building and non-building experts. The proposed evaluation approach remains adjustable and can be continuously updated and enhanced as new insights from psychological research emerge.