A generation lost to dust

This study examines the long-run health consequences of being in utero during the Dust Bowl, one of the most severe environmental disasters in U.S. history. By linking full-count 1940 census data with Social Security death records and comparing birth cohorts from high- versus low-erosion counties, the study finds that individuals exposed in utero to Dust Bowl conditions had a statistically significant reduction in lifespan of 0.85 months. Though modest at the individual level, this effect translates to nearly 191,000 lost life-years across the affected cohort. The analysis reveals that early-life environmental stressors can have enduring impacts on health, even decades later—particularly among females and children of less-educated mothers—emphasizing the long-term costs of climate-related disasters.