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Dr. Theresa Pauly and Dr. Victoria Michalowski coordinate Canadian data collection for the Heat and Cognition Project, a global Many Labs collaboration investigating how extreme heat may affect cognition and collective well-being.

Extreme heat has become a more common climate hazard, and its impacts may extend beyond physical health to cognitive and social functioning, beliefs, and behaviors. This project aims to bring more systematic, comparable evidence to a research area that has often been fragmented and inconsistent by using a harmonized study implemented by labs across many countries.

In Canada, the project will recruit approximately 4,000 participants across urban environments. Data collection will take place during heat waves and matched non-hot control periods, leveraging heatwaves as a natural experiment. Participants complete a brief online session (approximately 15–18 minutes) that includes validated cognitive tasks measuring processes such as working memory, attention, and inhibitory control, alongside questionnaires assessing heat risk perception, coping intentions, and related psychological and social measures. Participant location data will be used to link responses with local temperature conditions.

The broader Many Labs initiative includes researchers across 47 cities worldwide and is led by Mona Bielig, Celina Kacperski, Claus Lamm, and Kimberly Doell. The Canadian study is independently conducted and will generate standalone findings while also contributing harmonized data for international comparisons.

Findings from this work will help clarify how extreme heat influences cognition and related outcomes, with implications for interventions and policies aimed at protecting well-being during heat events, particularly for vulnerable populations.