摘要：Repeated exposure to heatwaves is accelerating ageing in people, according to a study. The impact is broadly comparable with the d
Heatwaves are making people age faster, study suggests
研究表明，热浪使人们衰老得更快
Exposure to high temperatures could result in long-lasting damage to health of billions of people, scientists warn
科学家警告称，高温暴露可能会对数十亿人的健康造成长期损害
Mon 25 Aug 2025 16.00 BST
2025年8月25日星期一 16:00 BST
Repeated exposure to heatwaves is accelerating ageing in people, according to a study. The impact is broadly comparable with the damage smoking, alcohol use, poor diet or limited exercise can have on health, the researchers said.
一项研究表明，反复暴露于热浪正在加速人类衰老。研究人员表示，其影响大致相当于吸烟、饮酒、不良饮食或缺乏运动对健康的损害。
Extreme temperatures are increasingly common owing to the climate crisis, potentially causing widespread and long-lasting damage to the health of billions, the scientists warned.
科学家警告说，由于气候危机，极端气温越来越常见，可能对数十亿人的健康造成广泛而持久的损害。
The research represents a “paradigm shift” in the understanding of the extent and severity of heat’s impact on our health, which can be lifelong, according to one expert.
一位专家表示，这项研究代表了对高温对我们健康影响的程度和严重程度的理解的“范式转变”，这种影响可能是终生的。
It was already known that heatwaves cause short-term spikes in early deaths with, for example, almost 600 premature deaths linked to a June heatwave in England. But the new analysis is one of the first to assess the longer-term impact.
人们已经知道热浪会导致早期死亡人数短期激增，例如，英国6月份的一场热浪就导致近600人过早死亡。但这项新分析是首批评估长期影响的研究之一。
While the increase in biological age may seem quite small, the scientists noted that this was only over a two-year period. They are investigating the impact of heatwaves on ageing over people’s entire lifetimes.
虽然生物年龄的增长看似很小，但科学家们指出，这仅仅是两年内发生的。他们正在研究热浪对人们一生衰老的影响。
The researchers also said that the total impact on populations around the world would be large, because everyone suffers during heatwaves, and higher biological age is a strong predictor of increased risk of death.
研究人员还表示，热浪对全球人口的总体影响将是巨大的，因为每个人都会在热浪中受苦，而生物年龄的增加是死亡风险增加的有力预测因素。
“If heatwave exposure accumulates for several decades, the health impact will be much greater than we have reported,” said Dr Cui Guo, at the University of Hong Kong, who led the research. “Heatwaves are also becoming more frequent and lasting longer so the health impacts could be much greater [in the future].” Fossil fuel burning, the main cause of the climate crisis, reached record levels in 2024.
“如果热浪暴露累积数十年，其健康影响将远超我们报告的水平，”领导这项研究的香港大学崔国博士表示。“热浪也变得越来越频繁，持续时间也越来越长，因此（未来）对健康的影响可能会更大。” 化石燃料燃烧是气候危机的主要原因，其排放量在2024年达到了创纪录的水平。
Prof Paul Beggs, at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and not part of the research team, said: “Many of us have experienced heatwaves and survived unscathed – or so we thought. [This research] now shows that exposure to heatwaves affects the rate at which we age.”
澳大利亚悉尼麦考瑞大学的保罗·贝格斯教授（并非该研究团队成员）表示：“我们很多人都经历过热浪，并且毫发无损地活了下来——或者说，我们以为是这样。（这项研究）现在表明，暴露在热浪中会影响我们的衰老速度。”
He added: “In 2024, [scientists] discovered that early life heat exposure negatively impacts brain white matter development in children. Coupled with the new finding that heatwave exposure accelerates ageing in adults, we have a paradigm shift in our comprehension of the extent and gravity of heat’s impact on our health. The impact can occur at any age and can be lifelong.”
他补充道：“2024年，[科学家]发现，早期高温暴露会对儿童脑白质发育产生负面影响。再加上新发现，高温暴露会加速成年人衰老，我们对高温对健康影响的程度和严重性的理解发生了范式转变。这种影响可能发生在任何年龄，并可能持续一生。”
The new research, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, used the results of a series of medical tests, including blood pressure, inflammation, cholesterol, and lung, liver and kidney function, to determine the biological age of each person in the study. The researchers compared this with the actual age of each person to see if their exposure to heatwaves was linked to faster ageing.
这项发表在《自然气候变化》杂志上的新研究利用一系列医学测试的结果，包括血压、炎症、胆固醇以及肺、肝和肾功能，来确定研究中每个人的生物年龄。研究人员将生物年龄与每个人的实际年龄进行比较，以了解他们遭受热浪的程度是否与衰老加快有关。
They found the total number of heatwave days experienced had the biggest impact on accelerated ageing. Why prolonged high temperatures cause faster ageing is not known, but damage to DNA is likely to be part of the reason.
他们发现，经历热浪的总天数对加速衰老的影响最大。持续高温导致衰老加速的原因尚不清楚，但DNA损伤可能是部分原因。
Analysis showed that the harmful effect of heatwaves lessened over time, but remained significant. This suggests people were increasingly taking steps to cope with the heat, such as spending more time in the shade and using air conditioning where available.
分析显示，热浪的有害影响随着时间的推移有所减弱，但仍然显著。这表明人们正在越来越多地采取措施应对高温，例如花更多时间待在阴凉处，并在有条件的地方使用空调。
The 25,000 adults in the study were all part of a paid-for health management plan and were on average younger, healthier and more educated than the general population. Older and sicker people are more vulnerable to heat, so the impact on ageing is likely to be larger than found in the study.
研究中涉及的2.5万名成年人均参与了付费健康管理计划，平均比普通人群更年轻、更健康、受教育程度更高。老年人和体质较弱的人更容易受到高温的影响，因此高温对衰老的影响可能比研究中发现的更大。
The study took into account people’s weight, smoking and exercise habits, and any pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and cancer, as well as the overall use of air conditioning in their neighbourhood. But data on potentially relevant factors such as time spent outdoors, coolness of housing and individual air conditioner use was not available, with the researchers saying further investigation was needed.
该研究考虑了人们的体重、吸烟和运动习惯、任何既往疾病（例如糖尿病和癌症）以及他们所在社区的空调使用情况。但关于户外时间、住房凉爽程度和个人空调使用情况等潜在相关因素的数据尚未获得，研究人员表示需要进一步调查。
Beggs said the results of the study were broadly consistent with those from a recent US study that showed outdoor heat accelerated ageing among older adults. Another US analysis, from 2023, found that “high exposure to extreme heat was associated with faster cognitive decline for [Black people] and residents of poor neighbourhoods”.
贝格斯表示，这项研究的结果与美国最近的一项研究结果大致一致，该研究表明，户外高温会加速老年人的衰老。另一项2023年的美国分析发现，“长期暴露于极端高温环境与黑人和贫困社区居民的认知能力下降速度加快有关”。
来源：左右图史
