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Exposure to heat waves over just two years could add up to 12 extra days of age-related health damage.
Aug. 25, 2025, 11:00 a.m. ET
Living through extreme heat waves can accelerate your rate of aging, according to research published Monday.
Scientists analyzed 15 years’ worth of health data from nearly 25,000 adults in Taiwan and found that two years of exposure to heat waves could speed up a person’s so-called biological aging by eight to 12 extra days.
It may not sound like a lot, but this number builds over time, said Cui Guo, an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong who led the study, which was published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.
“This small number actually matters,” she said. “This was a study of a two-year exposure, but we know heat waves have actually been occurring for decades.”
The research comes as human-induced climate change is making heat waves more intense and long-lasting. The West Coast of the United States is suffering from sweltering temperatures while Iran is experiencing searing heat. Record-breaking temperatures punished Europe, Japan and Korea earlier this month. France recently experienced its second heat wave of the summer, sparking a national debate over air-conditioning.
In 2024, the hottest year on record, climate change was responsible for 41 extra days of extreme heat worldwide, according to an analysis by World Weather Attribution.
