Among other media outlets, Yahoo News recently posted an article, “Extreme heat may speed up aging in older adults, USC study says,” published as a video story at CBS News Boston, claiming that “extreme heat may speed aging and increase the risk of disease.” This is false and misleading. While prolonged exposure to harsh environmental conditions can affect health, the claim that “extreme heat” is an increasing and worsening threat due to climate change is not supported by historical data. In fact, evidence suggests that extreme heat waves in the United States are not becoming more frequent or severe, and cold weather remains a far greater threat to human health.
The story is based on a University of Southern California (USC) press release titled; Study: Extreme Heat May Speed Up Aging in Older Adults
In the press release, the author states, “Scientists are growing increasingly concerned about the long-term health effects of climate change, with new research suggesting extreme heat could speed up aging and lead to a host of other medical issues.” This type of speculative language is common in climate alarmist narratives—using vague phrases like “growing concern” and “could” rather than providing solid, demonstrable evidence.
In the published study at Science Advances, the study authors claim to be able to detect age enhancing DNA changes from blood tests done on older populations. The basis of their study is this:
The researchers used mathematical tools called epigenetic clocks to analyze methylation patterns and estimate biological ages at each time point. They then compared participants’ changes in biological age to their location’s heat index history and number of heat days reported by the National Weather Service from 2010 to 2016.
They provide this map of the United States showing areas of heat risk days above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Unsurprisingly, that map looks like a normal high temperature distribution for summer in the United States, with southern latitudes having the highest number of days above 90°F. That’s not news.
However, data from Climate at a Glance shows that heat waves in the U.S. were far more severe in the 1930s, particularly during the Dust Bowl years, than anything we see today. NOAA’s temperature records confirm that the highest recorded temperatures and longest-lasting heat waves occurred nearly a century ago. If “extreme heat” were truly an escalating crisis, we would see a consistent upward trend in heat wave frequency and intensity, but that is simply not the case.
The story and the study completely ignore this and other factors, such as the Urban Heat Island effect, which has grown over the last several decades as city populations increase. Note the similarity of the Figure 1 map above with the Figure 2 map below.
Note that much of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Arizona, and Southern California have cities with strong UHI signatures, matching the same areas of the map provided by the study. UHI is not a product of climate change, but rather a propensity for increasing infrastructure to retain heat, and contribute to higher temperatures.
Furthermore, the study wrongly assumes that increased temperatures are the only reason for these aging changes in the DNA of people they studied. It is well known that several environmental and personal factors contribute to accelerating aging, including exposure to pollutants, UV radiation, diet, physical activity, poor sleep quality, poor air quality, and lifestyle-related stressors such as drinking alcohol, obesity, and smoking. The study doesn’t take any of these into account, leading to a conclusion that cannot be verified as being only temperature related.
Finally, the study only used data from 2010 to 2016. That short period data does not even come close to the 30 year requirement for a climate data set, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization. Thus, short-term influences can be at work here rather than long-term climate change. For example, a strong El Niño event in 2015 and 2016 significantly increased temperatures in the United States. The El Niño of 2015-16 was among the strongest El Niño events observed since 1950, and thus added to the higher temperatures people experienced in the United States. In 2015, More than 4,000 daily record highs were set across the country, and in 2016 The U.S. experienced 5,350 daily record high temperatures according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A search of the study shows the authors completely ignore the El Niño event in 2015 and 2016 and the effect it had on high temperatures, wrongly attributing it to climate change. That is simply shoddy science by the researchers that enabled their false conclusion.
While researchers and media outlets like to focus on heat-related health risks, they consistently ignore the well-documented dangers of cold weather. A study published in The Lancet found that cold-related deaths vastly outnumber heat-related deaths worldwide, by nearly a 10-to-1 margin. Cold temperatures exacerbate cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, leading to significantly higher mortality rates in winter than during heat waves. In the U.S., extreme cold events, winter storms, and power outages caused by “green” energy policies restricting reliable fossil fuels pose a greater risk to public health than summer heat. But instead of addressing the real danger—how restrictive climate policies make heating more expensive—media outlets continue their fixation on “extreme heat” as an existential threat.
This type of reporting is not about science; it’s about pushing a climate crisis narrative. Instead of examining long-term historical data and other factors, the media selectively highlights flawed short-term studies and worst-case scenarios to create climate alarm. This article is just another example of that trend—promoting fear without looking at the full picture. If the media were truly concerned about public health, they would focus on the deadly impact of cold weather and the policies that make energy more expensive, rather than pushing dubious claims about heat waves “accelerating aging.”
Anthony Watts is a senior fellow for environment and climate at The Heartland Institute. Watts has been in the weather business both in front of, and behind the camera as an on-air television meteorologist since 1978, and currently does daily radio forecasts. He has created weather graphics presentation systems for television, specialized weather instrumentation, as well as co-authored peer-reviewed papers on climate issues. He operates the most viewed website in the world on climate, the award-winning website wattsupwiththat.com.
Originally posted at ClimateREALISM
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Nuts. And Bill Nye gives a NAZI salute.
There’s a possibility that extreme heat “may” be affecting longevity, but chances are at least as good that it’s not having any effect on people at all. Haven’t numerous studies shown that extreme cold causes more health problems and shorter life spans than the cold? Most likely here’s just another probable example of climate alarmist groups paying one media source or another to exaggerate an unproven theory, and the overwhelming majority of the population won’t lose any sleep over it.
It is well established that cold causes about 5 times more deaths than heat. Easy to show by ‘excess deaths comparing summer to winter. While true that death stops aging, isn’t true that aging per se causes death except after a very long time—somewhere mid 80s to mid 90s these days. Queen Elizabeth died of old age at 96.
Yeah, but when people die they stop aging. So there’s that.
Are older folks moving to Florida so they can hurry up and die?
Per the ‘science’ article, obviously yes.
Not so obvious to those who live here.
No, they don’t. People are made of matter which cannot be created or destroyed. So they never stop aging.
Yes, and she lived her entire life in cold England. So should she not have taken those trips to Africa in her youth, she should have lived to 100?
I had not heard about the relatively new ‘epigenetic clock’ even though have been following epigenetics closely since it’s discovery about two decades ago. For example, epigenetics alone explains all the various types of dried pulses aka dried beans (black, red, white, navy, pinto, kidney…). All these ‘epigenetic race types’ have essentially the same identical DNA as their wild precursor P. Vulgaris. Evolved in three different mesoamerican geographies (Andes, Yucatán, central Mexico) by Native American race selection over just a few thousand years. Not enough time for much natural DNA variation. Same is true for all the ‘pure breed’ dog ‘race types’—all the DNA is genetically ‘just’ Canis Lupus familiarensis, (aka domesticated wolves). Is why two different pure breeds so easily produce mutts.
So went to NIH PubMed and found apparently the most recent comprehensive review article on ‘epigenetic clocks’. Aging Res Rev 2022 Nov:81:101743. Quoting from the abstract, “We discuss how lack of higher quality information poses a major challenge.”
So in addition to all the issues AW notes, the underlying method used in the study itself ‘poses major challenges’.
Speaking only for myself, I am definitely aging more slowly here on the beach in Fort Lauderdale now that I no longer have to shovel winter snow in Chicagoland.
Just a quick latish adder on the fascinating topic of epigenetics after some refresher AI aided quick research.
There are as of now two known major epigenetic biochemical mechanisms.
One is DNA gene methylation, which depending on degree renders a DNA gene less to very unlikely ‘aka silenced’ to be expressed. ‘Epigenetic aging’ is based mostly on increasing gene methylation. But counting increasing gene methylations does not easily translate into ‘aging’ since we yet don’t know what ‘aging’ methylated genes actually do in most cases. Per previous comment.
The second is histone modifications, which govern how DNA folds into a nuclear DNA cell nucleus. While much more complicated than this simple summary, the two basic histone epigenetic influences are refolding so histone modified genes on the refolded ‘outside’ are more easily accessed and expressed, and ‘strand extensions’ where a short segment of a histone modified DNA strand (chromosomes and all that extra detail stuff omitted) is essentially not folded at all and is therefore very frequently gene expressed. Cellular RNA replication mechanisms cannot stop themselves from working continuously—as the mRNA COVID spike protein vaccine side effects have unfortunately now shown.
Both mechanisms interestingly mean LaMarck was about as right as Darwin. Dry bean Phenotype is a product of P. Vulgaris genotype plus environmentally induced yet fully replicable epitype. Major history of science revision is now due.
I don’t think Harvard’s Naomi Oreskes is on it—climate change uber alles.
The sole known class of organisms utilizing both mechanisms is coral. The for sure humble survivor over hundreds of millions of years—maybe why. Corals spawn once a year, developing ‘new’ Darwinian DNA genotypes for populating ‘new’ territory evolutionarily. But in between they also bud (duplicating local epigenetics), propagating an environmentally adapted LaMarckian epitype to maintain local reef health between Darwinian spawnings.
Non climate hard core science stuff for WUWT.
Also explaining why GBR climate alarm is way overstated.
My brain hurts.
Is the main point of the sub comment. The journal climate alarm brains obviously don’t. I love learning this new science stuff.
For nearly 10 years now I have been showing graphs of Australian heatwaves that do not support the chant that globally, heatwaves are becoming hotter, longer and more frequent. Many times, I have suggested that people calculate heatwaves for their own country,
We are not going to demolish the heatwaves claptrap using Aussie data. A coordinated campaign in the US is a far better way. Geoff S
Geoff S, I deconstructed the 2014 NCA chapter 1 US heat wave myths in essay ‘Credibility Conundrums’ in ebook Blowing Smoke. The chapter actual had 5 false ‘alarms’ in total: flood, drought, heat, heat, blizzard cold. Go figure. Both heat examples were artificially contrived, plus one of the two also ignored the historical record. As did flood, drought, and blizzard.
Rud,
Then please join with me in hoping that more people will calculate actual heatwave data properly and display it in picture form like graphs.. I was in no way criticising you, quite the opposite, I have read a lot of your work and I respect it. Geoff S
Given that warming, whether natural or not, tends to be most significant in colder climates, during the colder months, and/or at night, and that retirees have a tendency to move to places like Arizona and Florida, I’m going to give this study six Pinocchios.
“A search of the study shows the authors completely ignore the El Niño event in 2015 and 2016 and the effect it had on high temperatures, wrongly attributing it to climate change. That is simply shoddy science by the researchers that enabled their false conclusion.”
With all due respect, Anthony. It’s not shoddy, it’s exactly what they intended to show. They don’t care about facts, only propaganda.
So old folks move to Florida so that they can age faster. Good to know. I’ll stay up north.
“I’ll stay up north.”
I live “up north” in central Washington State. A couple of Junes ago the temp got to 116°F. I don’t find that anyplace in Florida has been that hot since data have been kept. Having Air Conditioning in either place is a fine idea.
The US itself offers plenty of opportunity to test the theory. Its a lot hotter in Mississippi than Maine or Montana. Do people live longer in Maine or Montana than in Mississippi? Just go get the data for crying out loud.
As a matter of fact, yes. Mississippi has the lowest life expectancy of all US states. The rest of the Deep South isn’t much better. However, climate has nothing to do with it. The cause is mostly economic and cultural.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/life-expectancy-by-state
A lot of old people have heart attacks shoveling snow. So they don’t don’t age (even though some still vote).
The two authors use “epigenetic clocks to analyze methylation patterns and estimate biological ages “.
Add the ages of the two young women authors and the result will be less than my chronological age but likely more than my biological age. My hypothesis is that the days over 110°F cause me more harm {cold beer} than those measly 90 degree days. They are welcome to come visit at the end of June and we can discuss this. 🤠
Of the top 10 countries for life expectancy, all except Switzerland have hot or very hot climates, including Hong Kong, Singapore, La Réunion, French Polynesia, Spain, Italy, Australia and Japan
Seems to me that a hot climate in and of itself does not make humans expire early
Just more drivel that cannot pass a smell test published in a so called top journal
Even in the literature review (brief reading because I don’t want to waste my time) they cite several studies that show negligible to modest effects due to temperature rises
Not that I place any trust in any of those either.
Then in the discussion they go through a very long list of reasons why their own results might actually be invalid
It’s just a manufactured result designed for the sole purpose of getting into this type of journal. it writes it’s own headline, good or absurd, it doesn’t matter
Going golfing in the summer certainly makes my skin older and leathery looking. They might be onto something big here. On the other hand a couple of my buddies had heart attacks from shoveling snow.
I live in east Texas and if heat caused accelerated aging I would already be dead. The truth is that, at seventy-one, I’m in better shape than I was twenty years ago.
Well, I’m only 70 and I can’t say that I’m now in better shape than I was even 2 years ago.
But, then again, I retired from a sometimes physical job 3 years ago.
(Maybe my wife is right. I need more exercise?)
Aging is the direct result of the number of trips the earth makes orbiting the sun.
That’s all it can ever be by definition.
Decaying is what is being discussed here, not aging.
Whereas sitting in the freezing cold just makes you want to die.