Hot Weather Makes People Older

Hot Weather Makes People Older

According to a new paper published at Science Advances, titled “Ambient outdoor heat and accelerated epigenetic aging among older adults in the US,” heat not only threatens human health, particularly in extremely hot conditions, it also ages people, prematurely, compared to those who live in more temperate climates year round. 

The authors report, “Extreme heat is well-documented to affect health and mortality adversely, but its link to biological aging—a precursor of the morbidity and mortality process—remains unclear.” Unclear, that is, until this study was published.

Study Of 3,500 People

The study looked at over 3,500 people who live in neighborhoods with a disproportionate number of days when temperatures are above 90 degrees F. High temperatures appear to affect DNA, speeding up aging. 

The New York Times reports, “The study authors estimated that a person living in an area that reached 90 degrees or above for 140 days or more in a year could age up to 14 months faster than someone in an area with fewer than 10 extreme heat days a year.”

100 Degrees F, 100 Days In A Row

The work should quicken the treatment of older people in hot cities, particularly in the US. In Phoenix, for example, it was over 100 degrees F for over 100 days in a row last year. 

Parts of the country routinely have temperatures above 90 degrees through the summer. This is particularly true in Las Vegas, Riverside, CA, San Antonio, Miami, and Houston.

Now that scientists have established the problem, it will be difficult, as America warms, to find a solution.

More from ClimateCrisis 247

• US Hit By 288 Tornadoes
• AI Weather Forecasting Could Replace Humans
• World Slammed By 151 Extreme Weather Events
• Last 10 Years Were Hottest In History, Glaciers Disappearing