Extreme Heat May Make You Age Faster, Says Study

A new study published on 26 August in Nature Climate Change has found that repeated exposure to heat waves accelerates ageing and increases vulnerability to health problems.

Researchers followed nearly 25,000 people in Taiwan over 15 years, from 2008 to 2022, when the region experienced 30 heat waves. They defined these events as periods of elevated temperatures lasting several days.

To measure biological ageing, the team used medical tests assessing liver, lung and kidney function, blood pressure, and inflammation.

They compared these results to the temperatures participants were likely exposed to by using their addresses in the two years prior to each medical visit.

The findings revealed that every extra 1.3°C of cumulative heat added roughly eight to twelve days to a person’s biological age. Manual labourers and people in rural areas were found to be the most affected.

Lead author Cui Guo, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong, explained that while the numbers may appear small, the long-term impact across populations carries significant public health consequences.

With climate change driving more frequent and intense heat waves, the urgency of the issue is growing.

The World Meteorological Organisation estimates a 70% chance that global temperatures from 2025 to 2029 will average more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

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