ABC News’ Claim that Climate Change Is Causing Sleep Apnea Is Absurd
21 hours ago Anthony Watts
ABCNews-apnea-absurd
In a recent article titled “Climate change making it harder for us to sleep, study says,” ABC News claimed that climate change is now not just responsible for hurricanes, wildfires, and flooding—it’s also robbing us of our sleep. This evidence for this is at best scientifically flimsy and at worst flatly false. Data does not show that heat waves or nighttime temperatures are increasing globally in a way that would significantly disrupt human sleep patterns.
“If temperature keeps rising the way they project it to, the burden and prevalence of sleep apnea may double, increasing by 20-100%, depending on greenhouse gas emission reduction,” Bastien Lechat, the lead author of the study that ABC News based its story on, told the news service.
First, it’s important to note that a large portion of the measured temperature rise in cities is due to the well-known Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, not long-term climate change. Studies show that local temperatures, particularly nighttime temperatures, are elevated in urban areas because of concrete, asphalt, and heat retention from human activity. This effect can easily be mistaken for broader climate warming if not properly controlled for in studies. As noted by Climate Realism, the UHI effect significantly skews local temperature readings and has not been adequately accounted for in many of the studies used to bolster claims of increasing nighttime heat waves.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/07/10/abc-news-claim-that-climate-change-is-causing-sleep-apnea-is-absurd/
