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How Climate Change Could Bring Down the Birth Rate

By this century’s end, more extremely hot days could mean 107,000 fewer U.S. births per year.
Children cool off in the fountain at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.
Children cool off in the fountain at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu
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Extremely hot days are becoming more and more frequent as climate change progresses. Heat is a human health hazard, to say the least: In the U.S., heat causes about 400 deaths per year. Another 1,800 die from illnesses exacerbated by hot days, such as heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and heart disease.

But there may be another, overlooked health effect of a warming planet: reduced fertility.