There's no doubt that weather can affect some people, and there's even an entire scientific field devoted to the phenomenon: biometeorology, a small but diverse group of atmospheric scientists who study how—and why—weather affects animals, plants, and people.
The idea that some people can "feel" weather changes before they happen often falls into the category of 'folk tales', but research, although limited, has shown that weather and pain are linked. People who are most affected by change are often called meteoropaths (from the Greek words Meteora, celestial phenomena; and Pathos, pain, suffering), and the term refers to a physical condition or symptom associated with weather conditions, such as humidity, temperature, and pressure. .
In the scientific community, there is still no definitive explanation of this phenomenon, but, according to Dr. According to Robert Nevlin Jameson, professor of psychiatry and anesthesiology at Harvard and a researcher who has studied the effects of time on the chronically ill, there are several theories.
One of the leading ones focuses on changes in atmospheric pressure, which can best be described as 'the weight of the atmosphere that surrounds us'. High atmospheric pressure pushes the tissues towards the body and simply does not allow them to expand. But atmospheric pressure often drops before bad weather conditions occur. Then the lower pressure pushes the tissues with less force, which allows them to expand - and the expanded tissues then put pressure on the joint itself. "These are microscopic differences and we can hardly notice them, unless we feel them," says Dr. Jameson.
"Additionally, when people have chronic pain, sometimes nerves can become sensitive due to injury, inflammation or scarring."
Nerves are hypersensitive, and since the body can [microscopically] expand or contract based on external pressure changes – hypersensitive nerves will immediately register the change, mostly in the form of pain.
However, the connection between pain and weather changes remains only a hypothesis because different studies have come to different conclusions. In addition to the results being quite unclear, there is also an entire population that claims that weather changes have absolutely no effect on them.
However, we know for sure that the weather affects some processes in our body, for example - a change in atmospheric pressure also changes our blood pressure, and this can cause a series of further consequences.
Different weather conditions cause different consequences
Scientific studies have shown that different weather conditions can have quite different effects on the human body.
A storm accompanied by thunder: According to a study by the University of Cincinnati, a thunderstorm accompanied by thunder increases the risk of headache by 31% and the risk of migraine in chronic patients by 28% (it is enough for lightning to strike even 40 km away from a person to cause these consequences).
The researchers concluded that lightning had an effect on headaches regardless of other weather events. The exact reason is not clear, but scientists hypothesize that electromagnetic waves emitted from lightning may be the trigger.
Smog: Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have linked exposure to fine particles in the air—in other words, smog—with an increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory problems.
"Smog affects the cardiovascular system in various ways," says cardiologist Stefan Sinatra.
"When you inhale the particles, the smog puts pressure on the lungs, which can increase the pressure on the heart.
Fog: Unlike smog, fog can benefit people with respiratory problems. The most useful is morning fog, known as "radiation fog", that is, when the sky is clear and the atmosphere is stable. As the Sun rises, water droplets evaporate, and dirt and dust particles that are in the air during the day fall to the ground, reports Pixelism.
"Your nose, mouth, throat and upper respiratory tract are, of course, efficient at filtering," says Dr. Raymond Caschiari.
“But small particles can still reach the alveoli and cause damage. Since fog itself cleans these tiny particles in the air, it can also be beneficial.”
Storms: Sudden drops in atmospheric pressure usually come before the storm itself. According to research by scientists at the University of Barcelona, storms may increase the risk of depressive symptoms in some individuals, especially those prone to seasonal affective disorder.
A completely different study conducted by researchers at the University of Louisville and published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry linked low atmospheric pressure to an increased number of psychiatric emergencies, especially those related to violent acts.
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