Key Takeaways

Research shows that repeated heat wave exposure may speed up biological aging.

Outdoor workers, rural residents, and people without air conditioning face the highest risks.

Extreme heat also leads to more missed medical appointments.

Heat waves may speed up biological aging in a way similar to smoking or drinking alcohol, according to new research.

The health effects appear to worsen with repeated exposure to heat waves, especially for people in rural areas, manual laborers, and those without air conditioning. Surviving multiple extreme heat events over two years may accelerate a person’s biological clock by about eight to 11 days.

Heat Waves May Speed Up ‘Biological Clock’

The 15-year study included 24,922 adults in Taiwan and recorded about 30 heat waves during that

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