Heat swings dangerous, study says
New research from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) suggests that seemingly small changes in summer temperature swings — as little as 1°C more than usual — may shorten life expectancy for elderly people with chronic medical conditions, and could result in thousands of additional deaths each year. While previous studies have focused on the short-term effects of heat waves, this is the first study to examine the longer-term effects of climate change on life expectancy. The study was published online April 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “The effect of temperature patterns on long-term mortality has not been clear to this point. We found that, independent of heat waves, high day-to-day variability in summer temperatures shortens life expectancy,” said Antonella Zanobetti, senior research scientist in HSPH’s Department of Environmental Health and lead author of the study. “This variability can be harmful for susceptible people.” In recent years,...