SACHI KITAJIMA MULKEY2025年8月26日7月，台湾台北出现高温天气。 Annabelle Chih/ReutersLiving through extreme heat waves can accelerate your rate of aging, according to research published Monday.根据周一发表的研究，极端热浪可能会加速人体衰老。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.科学家分析了台湾近2.5万名成年人长达15年的健康数据，发现暴露在高温天气下两年可能使个体的所谓生物衰老加速八至12天。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.听起来可能不多，但是这个数字会随着时间的推移而累积，香港大学助理教授、该研究负责人郭萃表示。该研究于周一发表在《自然气候变化》(Nature Climate Change)期刊上。“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.”“这个数字看似微小，实际上很重要。”她说。“这项暴露研究为期两年，但我们知道几十年来一直在出现高温天气。”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.该研究发布之际，人类活动引发的气候变化正使高温天气更强烈、更持久。美国西海岸正经历酷暑，伊朗遭遇灼热高温，欧洲、日本和韩国本月初也创下历史高温纪录。法国近期的第二波夏季热浪引发了关于空调使用的全国讨论。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.世界天气归因组织的分析显示，2024年是有记录以来最热的一年，气候变化导致全球极端高温天数增加了41天。Particular groups are more vulnerable to faster aging because of heat, the researchers found. If you’re an older person who has lived through many heat waves, you may age faster than a younger person who had the same exposure, Dr. Guo said. Other factors, such as living without air-conditioning or working outdoors, can also make your aging rate significantly worse.研究发现，特定群体更易受高温天气加速衰老的影响，郭萃表示，经历过多次高温天气的老年人的衰老速度可能比同样经历高温天气的年轻人更快；其他因素也有影响，比如缺乏空调或户外工作者的衰老速率也会明显上升。Dr. Guo cautions this isn’t the same as losing literal days off your life; it reflects a measurable shift in biological aging markers, not the calendar.郭萃特别指出，这种衰老并非具体天数上的寿命缩短，它反映的是生理衰老标志物的可测量变化，而非日历上的时间。The study defined heat waves as both a period of at least two consecutive days of abnormally high temperatures as well as any time when officials issued heat warnings. It also took the sum of a person's heat exposure into account.该研究将高温天气定义为连续至少两天的异常高温，以及官方发布高温警告的任何时间。它还考虑了一个人的热暴露的总和。The researchers quantified the heat’s effects by comparing people’s biological age to their chronological age. Biological age, is a measure of how healthy a person’s lungs, liver and cells are compared with a perfectly healthy person, Dr. Guo said.研究通过比较个体的生理年龄与实际年龄来量化高温天气的影响。郭萃解释，生理年龄是一个人肺部、肝脏和细胞健康状况与完全健康个体相比有多健康的指标。The study used 12 of these health measurements, known as biomarkers, to calculate how heat affected the rate of aging for the study’s participants. The results accounted for individual factors that can affect aging markers, such as exercise, smoking and preexisting disease.研究采用12项被称为生理标志物的健康指标，量化高温对研究参与者衰老速度的影响。研究结果考虑了可能影响年龄标志的个人因素，如运动、吸烟和既往疾病。“Most countries are facing an aging population,” Dr. Guo said. Since biological aging is closely linked to death and many diseases, speeding it up can be an indicator of serious health problems.“大多数国家正面临人口老龄化，”郭萃说。由于生理上的衰老与死亡和许多疾病密切相关，加速衰老可能预示着严重的健康问题。The population of Taiwan, along with Italy, Spain and Hong Kong, ranks as one of the oldest in the world. In the United States, a little less than a quarter of the population is expected to be 65 or older by 2050.台湾与意大利、西班牙、香港的人口老龄化程度均位居世界前列，美国预计到2050年将有近四分之一人口达到或超过65岁。The research published Monday builds on other studies that have found similar detrimental health effects of heat exposure. A recent analysis of 3,600 older Americans found that living in 90 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 140 days a year could cause up to 14 months of additional aging.周一发表的这项研究也基于其他研究，这些研究发现高温暴露对健康存在类似的有害影响：最近美国对3600名老年人的分析表明，每年在约32摄氏度的环境中生活至少140天，可能额外导致14个月的衰老。Unlike the study in Taiwan, the research in the United States did not account for some individual factors that might affect health, like smoking. Kristie Ebi, a professor at the University of Washington who was not involved in either study, said that such factors make a large health impact, and accounting for them is key to correctly analyzing the effects of heat on a population.与台湾的研究不同，美国的研究并未考虑一些可能影响健康的个人因素，如吸烟。未参与任何一项研究的华盛顿大学教授克里斯蒂·埃比表示，此类因素对健康影响重大，考虑这些因素是正确分析高温对人群影响的关键。Other long term changes can make a difference too, Dr. Ebi said. Over a period as long as 15 years, a population may slowly acclimate to hotter temperatures, including finding new ways to cope with heat. The authors of the Taiwan study suggested that a moderate increase in the number of households with air-conditioners correlated to diminished aging from heat over time.埃比同时指出，其他长期变化也可能产生影响。在长达15年的时间里，人群可能逐渐适应更高的温度，包括找到新的应对高温的方法。台湾研究的作者认为，随着时间的推移，拥有空调的家庭的适度增加与减少因高温引起的衰老有关。“The results may have implications for public health interventions,” said Dr. Ebi, noting that there are ways that governments can intervene to protect people in a warming world.For example, residents of Oregon can use Medicaid funding to buy an air-conditioner if they have health conditions that can get worse in hot weather, she said. But air-conditioners should not be considered an ideal solution because the energy they use can make the outside air hotter and contribute to climate change, Dr. Ebi said.“研究结果可能对公共卫生干预措施具有重要意义，”埃比指出，政府可以通过多种方式干预，以保护人们在气候变暖的世界中免受危害。例如，如果患有在高温天气下可能恶化的健康问题，俄勒冈州居民可以利用联邦医疗补助的资金购买空调。但埃比指出，空调不应被视为理想解决方案，因为其耗能会使室外空气温度升高并加剧气候变化。Extreme heat can also present other, less direct risks to health. High temperatures have been found to worsen air quality, and set the stage for other disasters, such as wildfires, drought and storms.极端高温还可能带来其他间接健康风险。研究发现，高温会恶化空气质量，并为野火、干旱和风暴等灾害创造条件。“People just have low awareness that heat kills or that, in this case, has adverse health consequences,” Dr. Ebi said. “That’s just been a persistent challenge.”“人们对高温致死或在这种情况下对健康产生不良影响的认识不足，”埃比说。“这一直是一个挑战。”Sachi Kitajima Mulkey为时报报道气候和环境问题。翻译：晋其角点击查看本文英文版。