Fwd: New poll: Americans get it

[Loretta Lohman]

Plus, how extreme heat could be hurting your heart.

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Welcome to Tuesday.

Most Americans understand that climate change is making extreme weather worse, according to a new poll by the left-leaning polling firm Data for Progress.

About two-thirds of likely U.S. voters say heat waves are worsened by climate change, the pollster found. (Those voters are right.) About half of Republicans understand that climate change is making heat waves worse, along with 84% of Democrats.

The poll was conducted July 2-5, 2026, a period when extreme heat was scorching several U.S. regions.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island who has criticized other politicians for going silent on climate change, told The Guardian that the poll “adds to the mountain of evidence that the public is way ahead of the politicians on the dire consequences of climate change.”

“Climate hushers who ignore this righteous fight should take note,” he added.

The poll also found that 88% of likely voters support heat safety protections for workers, such as a policy requiring employers to provide rest, water, and cooling. As we’ve reported, few states mandate those protections.

– Sara Peach, Editor-in-Chief

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Summer heat could be hurting your heart without you knowing it

Sanket Jain reports:

Many forms of heart disease are linked to chronic inflammation, and scientists are probing whether global warming has worsened this condition for people around the world, even among younger adults in northern Europe where extreme heat is infrequent.

Unlike acute inflammation, the immune system’s tool to fight infection or heal an injury, chronic inflammation is a prolonged immune response that can damage healthy tissues over time. Chronic inflammation has been linked to conditions ranging from arthritis to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and other major illnesses.

“People often think heat is only dangerous when it causes heat stroke or during a heat wave, but that is probably too narrow,” said environmental epidemiologist Daniel Riggs, who is an assistant professor in the division of environmental medicine and the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute at the University of Louisville.

Emerging evidence suggests that even routine exposure to elevated temperatures may alter biological markers linked to inflammation, immune responses, and the functioning of blood vessels.

How heat fuels inflammation

Recent studies have revealed evidence of these subtle biological changes. In Louisville, Kentucky, researchers analyzed blood samples from 624 adults and linked hotter conditions, measured using a heat metric that accounted for temperature, humidity, and wind, with signs of increased inflammation and measurable changes in the immune system.

Hotter conditions were associated with nearly 10% higher levels of some immune cells involved in the body’s inflammatory response, while levels of TNF-alpha, a molecule that helps drive inflammation, were about 7% higher.

The study did not track disease outcomes, yet the researchers say the findings raise concerns that repeated exposure to high temperatures could alter immune responses and make people more vulnerable to infections. Over time, these changes may also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Riggs, who co-authored the study, found that even short-term exposure to heat appeared to affect both blood vessels and the immune system. Changes associated with inflammation included the cells lining blood vessels becoming more reactive, while immune cells were more likely to attach to vessel walls. The study also suggested that extreme heat may influence how immune cells communicate and respond to stress.

In a large Chinese study that examined some 3,000 proteins in nearly 4,000 adults, exposure to temperatures around 29.5°C (85.1°F) was associated with increases in some proteins and decreases in others, affecting the levels of 770 proteins, many of which were involved in inflammation, immune responses, and blood clotting. Many of these proteins were also linked to blood pressure and future risk of heart disease.

Riggs explained that repeated exposure to high temperatures and temperature fluctuations may gradually affect the lining of blood vessels, disrupt normal immune function, and increase the tendency for blood clot formation. These are all biological pathways linked to cardiovascular disease.

A climate change connection

Scientists are beginning to uncover biological clues hinting that cardiovascular problems could become more common in a warming world. In Germany, researchers analyzed blood samples from 359 women with an average age of 74. They examined temperature exposures over periods ranging from a few days to two weeks before the samples were collected.

A 5°C rise in ambient temperature was associated with roughly 10% higher levels of inflammatory molecules involved in immune regulation and the body’s response to stress. Some of them have previously been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions.

The risks may increase when heat interacts with other environmental stressors.

“People experiencing co-exposures, especially air pollutants like PM2.5, may also be at higher risk because heat and pollution can act on overlapping inflammatory and vascular pathways,” Riggs said. PM2.5 refers to tiny air pollution particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs.

Zhebin Yu, an environmental epidemiologist and assistant professor at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, added that regulators should also take steps to reduce air pollution, which also worsens inflammation.

Wildfires, which are also growing much more common as the climate warms, may offer a glimpse of what happens when multiple environmental stressors converge. In Portugal, scientists reported higher levels of inflammation and signs of elevated cardiovascular risk among wildland firefighters after wildfire exposure. Although it could not disentangle the effects of heat from wildfire smoke, physical exertion, and other hazards associated with firefighting, it adds to evidence that climate-related exposures can activate inflammatory pathways.

Not just an older person’s problem

Although older adults are vulnerable to heat, emerging evidence suggests they are not the only ones affected. In Sweden, researchers followed 807 participants with a mean age of about 26 years and collected blood samples on three occasions between 2020 and 2022. Keep reading.

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