Tag Archives: NBC News

Oy, Now Climate Change Triggers Migraines

From Watts Up With That?

In a delightful exercise of creative scientific storytelling, we have a recent article suggesting that climate change is now responsible for triggering migraines. Yes, you read that correctly—climate change, the ultimate scapegoat, is now allegedly making our heads hurt. The claim, published by Dr. Shiv Sudhakar in NBC News, offers a fantastical leap of logic that’s as amusing as it is absurd. Let’s dive into this narrative and see why it’s a textbook example of non-causative correlation.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/climate-change-may-linked-rising-migraine-severity-frequency-americans-rcna150868

The Comedy of Correlation

The article starts with a bold assertion: “Migraines are increasing in frequency and intensity among Americans: Could climate change be a reason?” It’s a classic case of correlation masquerading as causation. Just because two things happen at the same time doesn’t mean one causes the other. To illustrate, here are some other phenomena that have “increased” over the same period:

  1. The Stock Market: The Dow Jones has soared, reaching record highs over the past decades. Should we then conclude that higher stock prices cause migraines?
  2. Computer Speed: With processing speeds doubling every few years, perhaps faster CPUs are to blame for our pounding headaches.
  3. Use of Mobile Phones: The ubiquitous smartphone has taken over our lives. Clearly, this must be the real migraine culprit.
  4. Obesity Rates: As waistlines expand, so do the number of people complaining about migraines. Coincidence? I think not!
  5. Use of the Term “Racism”: The frequency of this term in public discourse has skyrocketed. Surely, social justice awareness is giving us migraines.
  6. Drop in Marriage Among Young People: Less matrimony, more migraines. Could the lack of wedding bells be the real issue here?
  7. Netflix Subscriptions: Binge-watching might be rotting our brains and causing headaches, right?
  8. Gluten-Free Diets: As more people cut out gluten, migraine reports have apparently increased. Is gluten the unsung hero against migraines?

More importantly according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there is no evidence that severe weather events have increased in frequency, except some modest belief in increased heat waves. If the frequency of extreme weather hasn’t demonstrably changed, then how exactly is climate change worsening migraines? It’s a correlation to a fantasy.

Page-90_-from-IPCC_AR6_WGI_Chapter12Herunterladen

Weather or Not

The article eagerly points to “erratic and severe weather conditions” as potential migraine triggers, courtesy of climate change. Dr. Fred Cohen from Mount Sinai says, “As extreme weather events, like hurricanes, become more frequent and intense, they could be contributing to an increase in migraine attacks and their severity.” because nothing says “headache” like a hurricane.

Dr. Cohen might as well have added, “And as more people watch reality TV, the decline in cognitive ability is surely giving them migraines.” The beauty of such assertions is that they sound plausible enough to the uncritical ear but fall apart upon closer inspection.

Moreover, there’s a glaring omission of the many other, more plausible factors contributing to migraines. For instance, lifestyle changes such as increased screen time, stress from modern living, dietary changes, and lack of sleep are well-documented migraine triggers. But these mundane, everyday factors don’t generate the same sensational headlines as blaming the ever-mystical climate change.

The Clown Car of Neurological Diseases

To add to the hilarity, the article brings in British researchers warning that “extreme weather and heat fluctuations may aggravate neurological disorders such as stroke, dementia, and schizophrenia.” They claim that worsening climate conditions are likely to lead to “heightened attack frequency in people who already have migraines.” At this point, we’re just throwing the entire medical dictionary at climate change. What’s next? Acne? Bad hair days?

This article is a classic case of what happens when sensationalism trumps science. By drawing dubious links between climate change and migraines, it distracts from legitimate research into the real causes and treatments of migraines. It’s not just a disservice to science but to every migraine sufferer looking for genuine answers.

Let’s stop the madness of attributing every conceivable problem to climate change. If we want to address migraines—or any other medical condition—let’s focus on real, evidence-based research rather than indulging in the trendy blame game. Until then, we might as well blame climate change for our dog’s bad breath and the fact that the toast always lands butter-side down.

HT/Michael M (No, not hat Michael M)

Wrong, NBC News, Climate Change Doesn’t Threaten Minnesota Ice Fishing

From ClimateRealism

By Anthony Watts

A broadcast by NBC News, titled “Ice fishing threatened by climate change,” claims that warmer winters, particularly the 2023/2024 winter, is affecting the ice fishing season due to supposed influences from climate change. This is false. Climate change does not make such localized effects in a short time, and it is well established that the warmer weather pattern this winter is a result of El Niño patterns in the Pacific Ocean.

The story begins stating:

NBC News’ Jesse Kirsch explores how warmer temperatures are impacting a winter tradition. Business owners near Minnesota’s Mille Lacs Lake who rely on the cold weather say they’re having a slow season.

The video then proceeds with interviews of ice fishermen and local business owners who are the bemoaning the fact that they are having a slow season. In the video they say “over the past 50 years Minnesota has lost 10 to 14 days of lake ice” but they did not back that up with any scientific citation.

First, it has to be said that any single winter having warmer than normal temperatures and the resultant less ice is in fact due to short term weather patterns not long-term climate change. It is well defined that climate change takes place over 30 years. As discussed in Climate at a Glance: Weather vs. Climate:

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) defines climate as “…the average weather conditions for a particular location and over a long period of time.” To create a climate record, 30 years of weather data is averaged to create a “normal” climate expectation for a location or region. What we experience on a day-to-day basis are weather events, not climate events. Weather is not climate.

Therefore, the 2023/2024 winter is cannot be attributed to climate change unless it is indicative of a long-term trend, but no evidence of such a sustained trend is found in the record.

It is already well established that the warmer temperatures of the 2023/2024 winter are a direct result of a significant El Niño pattern in the Pacific Ocean, affecting much of the United States. For example this report from Fox weather details the connection in US just had its warmest winter in history thanks to El Nino.

The story goes on to say:

“El Niño played a large role in the record heat,” said FOX Forecast Center Meteorologist Cody Braud. “The pattern for El Niño typically means a strong Pacific Jet, which displaces the Polar Jet farther to the North. There are obviously other facets to the story, but this largely keeps the coldest air trapped out of the Lower 48.”

That is clearly a short-term weather pattern, not climate.

Contrary to this year’s pattern, back in the winter of 2019 it was significantly colder and Minnesota had one of their biggest ice fishing tournaments ever with over 10,000 people on the ice in a single lake. As outlined in this story in Men’s Health titled: “Ice fishing event expects enormous crowd, More than 10,000 people will gather on frozen ice of Gull Lake, Minnesota, for world’s largest charitable ice fishing contest Saturday.” The story includes photographs of the lake covered by thousands of people and ice huts.

More recently, in January 2022, ice was thick enough to support vehicles in addition to the usual fishing huts as the photo below shows.

Vehicles towing ice houses drive on Lake of the Woods in Minnesota in January 2022. Credit: Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images.

Clearly, prior to the 2023/2024 winter ice fishing seemed to be doing quite well in Minnesota. One bad year is not evidence of climate change. This winter’s low and thin ice is a result of weather patterns this year that created a warmer winter in the United States, and of course, Minnesota.

It’s just as likely that next year Minnesota may find a record cold and a longer than normal ice fishing season next year because that is how variations in weather patterns work.  Discussing this point, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration writes:

Some examples of this longer time-scale variability might include a series of abnormally mild or exceptionally severe winters, and even a mild winter followed by a severe winter. Such year-to-year variations in the weather patterns are often associated with changes in the wind, air pressure, storm tracks, and jet streams that enclose areas far larger than that of your particular region.

If Minnesota has a banner ice fishing season next year, it is doubtful NBC News will send a reporter to cover it and correct its story from this year. This sort of singling out of particular weather events is part of a troubling pattern in which the media tries to link virtually anything that might be thought of as abnormal weather to climate change even when no long-term trend is evident.

For the media, pushing the climate alarm narrative seems to be more important than reporting factually on a story.