Mexico, Italy and others see up to two more months of heat stress than in the 1970s, study says

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Mexico, Italy and others see up to two more months of heat stress than in the 1970s, study says

[html]Jorge Moreno, a worker, drinks flavored water to cope with the heat wave during his workday at a construction site in Veracruz, Mexico, on June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)

2026-06-22T15:00:57Z

                                       

Mexico, Kenya, Italy and other nations around the world are experiencing one to two more months of heat stress than they were several decades ago, new research published Monday says, and some areas even more so. Regions previously untouched by heat stress are now feeling it, too.

Extreme feels-like temperatures, heat stress days and tropical nights have all become dramatically more frequent, long and severe over the past six decades as the planet’s warming intensifies — a result of the burning of fossil fuels coal, oil and gas — according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change on Monday.

The researchers went beyond just temperature, which is frequently studied, and used feels-like temperatures, to understand more of the impact on people. They assessed heat stress on individual humans, influenced by temperature, humidity, wind speed and more. They used what’s called the Universal Thermal Climate Index to analyze those factors and model the human body’s response to the environment.

The combination of         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/deadly-heat-wave-body-climate-change-b70e6ff98a81e80d9b99ed088e6de3d6">heat and humidity can be dangerous for humans, because humidity impacts how sweat evaporates, and that’s a cooling mechanism. Heat waves that are humid can be more fatal than dry heat waves as humans don’t cool down as easily.

   
       
   

Heat stress is worsening in already-warm regions, and beyond

Past studies have looked at the extent to which         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-world-weather-attribution-year-end-extreme-1e9028da87e518382482e21fef3cfeee">human-driven climate change has sent temperatures soaring, especially in recent years. One study says people globally         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-dangerous-heat-extreme-weather-06157ede7ea4a22ea6431f135cda275f">suffered an average of 41 extra days of dangerous heat in 2024. Some research says that the world is on track to         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-heat-wave-paris-accord-emissions-01ef64038dfecbe92717b88b4d1b1719">add nearly two months of superhot days each year by the end of the century.

         
           
               
               

   

       

       

       
     
   

   
   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   
       
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Volunteers distribute food and water to homeless people at the Progetto Arca Onlus foundation volunteer shelter, in Milan, Italy, July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

               
           
       
       
   

   
   
   



   

       

       

       
     
   

   
   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   
       
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Margarita Salazar, 82, wipes the sweat off with a tissue inside her home amid hot weather in Veracruz, Mexico, on June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)