The science news site, StudyFinds, recently discussed a study that found that cardiac arrests went up substantially during cold spells. This confirms other research that Climate Realism has previously discussed. Cold temperatures kill far more people each year than hot temperatures, the opposite of the narrative the mainstream media usually spins.
The story, “Cold Snaps Line Up With Cardiac Arrest Spikes, New Study Finds,” reports on the findings of a study published in the journal Public Health examining meteorological factors that influence cardiovascular emergency incidences, in common vernacular, heart attacks. The researchers involved, from various universities in Hungary, examined 114,830 incidences of cardiac arrests across 1,584 days reported by the Hungarian National Ambulance Service from November 2018 to December 2023, excluding the COVID-19 disruption period. They then tracked these cases against various meteorological parameters on those days, such as temperature, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, humidity, and air quality. As reported by StudyFinds, the researchers determined;
- On the days with the most cardiac arrests, counts ran nearly a third above normal, about 19 extra cases nationwide, and those days tended to be cold and calm;
- Colder temperatures and lower wind speeds were consistently associated with higher cardiac arrest counts, with weather patterns extending across a window of up to three days;
- Winter months saw almost 18 percent more cardiac arrests than summer months;
- Wind . . . appeared protective, likely because moving air helps clear out pollution and improves air quality overall, and the study found a real drop in cardiac arrests on breezier days; and
- Daily cardiac arrest counts averaged close to 66 cases during winter compared with about 56 during summer, a gap of almost 18% that held up across multiple statistical checks.
Machine learning, that is artificial intelligence, validated the study’s results.
The findings of this study should come as no surprise to readers of Climate Realism, as it has refuted dozens of false reports in the mainstream media claiming that hot temperatures cause the most deaths related to temperatures. In contrast to media claims, as explored in Climate at a Glance: Temperature Related Deaths, the peer reviewed literature consistently finds deaths related to cold temperatures are far more prevalent than premature mortality from heat, and as a result, as the planet has modestly warmed, deaths from non-optimum temperatures have fallen dramatically.
The journal StudyFinds was founded by award-winning editor Steve Fink to bring important science findings to the masses. Its mission statement says:
StudyFinds exists to make science accessible without sacrificing accuracy.
We believe that peer-reviewed research belongs to everyone, not just academics. Our job is to find studies that matter to real people, report what they actually say (not what headlines want them to say), and present that information clearly, fairly, and completely.
We have no agenda. We don’t editorialize about whether a finding is good or bad, politically convenient or inconvenient. We report what the research says, note its limitations, and trust our readers to think for themselves.
That is a laudable mission. One would wish more news outlets sought to report the truth about science matters, but in truth about all matters of public policy import, without political bias or promoting an agenda. StudyFinds reporting on this study examining the relation between cardiac arrests incidences and cold weather clearly reflects its writers’ and editors’ fealty to that mission. They reported the truth about the study, and nothing but the truth, leaving out unnecessary or unjustified context or commentary. Bravo, StudyFinds! If this example is consistent with your other reporting on science, Climate Realism can only hope more readers find their way to your online journal.
H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., is the Director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy and the managing editor of Environment & Climate News. In addition to directing The Heartland Institute’s Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy, Burnett puts Environment & Climate News together, is the editor of Heartland’s Climate Change Weekly email, and the host of the Environment & Climate News Podcast.
