Climate Change - Heatwaves lead to faster ageing

                                                                                             Shutterstock

The invisible effects of climate change via the increasing number of heat waves are more profound than many people may have imagined from trends over the past couple of decades. Heat waves in general are a well known health risk through the effects of dehydration, loss of body mass and organ stress. The evidence is now building that heat waves increase the ageing process itself.

A long-term study of 24,922 people in Taiwan, published in Nature Climate Change in August this year, has found that a moderate increase in cumulative heatwave exposure increases a person's biological age "...to an extent comparable to regular smoking or alcohol consumption. The more extreme-heat events that people were exposed to, the more their organs aged".

To reach this conclusion, the researchers analysed data from medical examinations between the years 2008 to 2022 during which time Taiwan experienced around 30 heatwaves. The definition of 'heatwave' applied was a period of elevated temperature over several days.  The results from several medical tests including assessments of liver, lung, kidney function, blood pressure and inflammation was used to calculate biological age. 

The results from the study found that the more extreme-heat events that people experienced the faster the ageing process that occured. For every extra 1.3°C exposure for a participant, around 0.023 to 0.031 years on average was added to their biological clock.  While the initial numbers may appear small, over time with accumulated effects and across populations, the impact on public health would be meaningful and costly. As increasing heat is a key effect from climate change, this latest research demonstrates the wide range of implications for life on this planet.