Nighttime Temperatures Rise as Climate Change Steals Global Sleep

Global warming is increasingly stealing precious sleep, with rising night temperatures directly linked to climate change causing significant sleep deprivation worldwide. A new study by Climate Central reveals that this impact has more than doubled over the past five decades. In Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, residents in cities are estimated to lose between 55 to 87 hours of sleep annually due to high nighttime temperatures. Of this, 12 to 16 hours are directly attributed to climate change. Similar impacts are felt in India and Southeast Asian nations, losing 78 to 91 hours per year, with climate change accounting for eight to nine hours. In West Africa, countries like Niger, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso lose about 65 hours of sleep yearly due to hot nights, with 10 to 11 hours caused by climate change. The Americas are also affected, with cities in the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, and Venezuela experiencing sleep loss. In the U.S., 235 cities lose an average of 36 hours of sleep annually due to high night temperatures, with about four hours, or 13 percent, influenced by climate change. Climate Central explains that while global temperature increases, population growth, urbanization, and air conditioner use have contributed to sleep loss since the 1970s, climate change is the primary driver of increased sleep deprivation from hotter nights. Globally, urban dwellers lost about 46 hours of sleep per year due to night temperatures in the early 1970s. By the 2020s, this figure rose to approximately 50 hours annually, with a much larger contribution from climate change. Out of 1,338 cities analyzed, 1,335 experienced at least a doubling of sleep loss due to climate change. A significant 840 cities saw a threefold increase. In the United States, the impact grew faster than the global average. Sleep loss increased from about one hour per year in the early 1970s to around four hours per year in the 2020s. Climate Central emphasizes that sleep plays a vital role in bodily functions.

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We estimate that people in cities in Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates lose about 55 to 87 hours of sleep each year due to high temperatures at night, with about 12 to 16 hours of sleep lost due to climate change.