Even long after a climate disaster subsides, its impact may continue to affect lives in unseen ways—especially the developing brains of unborn children.
A recent study published in PLOS One has revealed that children who were in the womb during Superstorm Sandy in 2012 displayed changes in brain development years later.
The study, led by researchers at Queens College and the City University of New York (CUNY), focused on 34 children—11 of whom were prenatally exposed to the storm.
When evaluated at approximately eight years old, these children showed a significant enlargement in parts of the brain known as the basal ganglia, with some regions up to 6% larger than those in non-exposed children. The basal ganglia are involved in emotional control, and changes in this region have been linked to behavioral and mental health conditions such as depression and autism.
According to researchers, the emotional and physical stress experienced by pregnant individuals during the storm—including displacement, loss of power, and general upheaval—could have played a role in altering their children’s neurodevelopment.
“This is something which people who are going to get pregnant should know and be prepared,” said study co-author Yoko Nomura, a professor at Queens College. “Society as a whole has to have a strategy to protect those pregnant people.”
The study builds on earlier research into stress during pregnancy, such as Canada’s Project Ice Storm, which showed that prenatal stress from natural disasters could influence a child’s IQ, temperament, and more. However, the new findings take this a step further by identifying structural changes in the brain caused by climate-related stress.
The research also observed that in a subgroup of seven children whose parents had experienced both Superstorm Sandy and episodes of extreme heat during pregnancy, the brain changes were more pronounced. One part of the basal ganglia was enlarged, while another was reduced. “That might mean one area is impaired, which might lead the other to have to work harder to compensate,” explained lead author Donato DeIngeniis, a doctoral student in clinical neuropsychology at CUNY.
While the study’s sample size was small—largely due to the cost of brain imaging and pandemic-related delays—the findings are considered significant. “Small but mighty,” said Burcin Ikiz, chair of the Neuro Climate Working Group at Columbia University. She noted the study’s importance in helping researchers understand how multiple climate stressors—such as heat and air pollution—may interact to affect human health, especially in vulnerable regions like New Delhi.
Ikiz and the research team acknowledge that more extensive research is needed, especially to account for other possible influences like genetics or socioeconomic conditions. In response, the team has launched a larger follow-up study with 80 participants already involved. But Nomura emphasised the urgency of the issue: “We felt it was important to release earlier findings more quickly to raise awareness among the public.”