What's behind the mysterious rise of migraines? Scientists are uncovering new clues.
Weather patterns such as extreme heat and storm conditions have been linked to migraine attacks, and research shows those environmental conditions are becoming more common.
Cristian-Ovidiu Marin, 34, used to get mild migraine attacks every couple of months, usually when he was stressed out or didn’t get enough sleep. About four years ago, he began getting more severe migraine flare-ups. “My migraines have become more frequent and intense, often with sharp, pounding pain, nausea, and light sensitivity that wipes out my focus for several hours, sometimes the whole day,” says Marin, the CEO of an online game company based in Bucharest.
Scientific evidence suggests Marin isn’t experiencing this change alone. A systematic review of medical research published in May of last year found a growing trend of more frequent and worse migraine attacks. While the review found that migraines in the U.S. are as common as they were three decades ago, the severity and level of impairment from migraine attacks nearly doubled between 2005 and 2018. And while women tend to be more prone to migraine attacks than men, men are increasingly affected by the neurologic condition.
One of the leading theories behind this mysterious rise is that climate change may be playing a role.
“Climate change appears to be contributing to more frequent and severe migraine flare-ups by amplifying environmental conditions that are already known triggers such as higher temperatures, wider temperature swings, worsening air quality, and changes in barometric pressure,” says Danielle Wilhour, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Marin has noticed that his recent increase in migraine attacks has coincided with these environmental changes. “It’s not just heat, either,” Marin says. “Storm fronts, humidity shifts, and sudden pressure changes also seem to trigger symptoms. It’s like my body has become its own weather barometer, warning me that something’s changing before the forecast even updates.”
How scientists are investigating this link
So far, most of the evidence for this link is correlational. It’s difficult to prove climate change is directly causing more migraines partly because “we cannot ethically conduct randomized controlled trials that expose people to environmental risks,” Wilhour says.
But the growing number of correlational studies is adding weight to the theory that climate change is amplifying migraine triggers.
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Research presented at the 2024 American Headache Society's Annual Scientific Meeting found that for every 10°F increase in outdoor temperature, there was a six percent increase in the occurrence of any headache on that day (based on headache diaries kept by 660 migraine patients). In a study in a 2025 issue of the journal Headache, researchers spent 12 years following 407,792 people in the U.K. who didn’t initially report experiencing migraines. That paper found that more migraine cases occurred among people who had higher exposure to nitrogen dioxide levels (a form of air pollution caused by burning fuel) and exposure to more extreme temperatures in the summer and winter.
“If you have global warming and higher temperatures to begin with, you’re going to have more headache,” says Vincent Martin, coauthor of the 2024 study, a professor of medicine at the University of Cincinnati, and president of the National Headache Foundation. “With more low pressure systems and turbulent weather rolling in, the fluctuating weather patterns that are occurring with climate change can trigger more frequent and severe attacks of migraine and longer duration headaches.”
Rather than causing migraine attacks directly, the rising temperatures, barometric pressure swings, and other weather shifts that are associated with climate change seem to be lowering the threshold for migraine attacks to occur in those who are susceptible to them, says Dawn C. Buse, a psychologist and clinical professor of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
After all, rising heat and humidity, thunderstorms, and barometric pressure changes are already known triggers.
In a study published in a 2023 issue of the journal Headache, researchers in Japan used data from a smartphone app in which 4,375 adults tracked their headaches: After comparing the data to local weather patterns, they found that headaches were more common on days with higher humidity, more rainfall, and barometric pressure changes.
And earlier studies have linked stormy conditions to more head pain. The warm and humid conditions associated with tropical air masses were linked to migraine-related hospital visits in a 2017 study, and a 2013 study linked lightning associated with thunderstorms to migraine attacks among people susceptible to them.
Climate change is making all these variables more common or extreme, which means that more migraine attacks are likely to follow, experts say.
How do weather changes lead to migraines?
Exactly how these weather disturbances trigger migraine flare-ups varies among people who suffer from them.
Frequent storms and barometric pressure swings can lead to changes in vascular tone—the degree of constriction or relaxation of blood vessels—and shifts in intracranial pressure, which can in turn lead to migraine attacks, Buse explains. By contrast, higher temperatures and heat waves can stress the body and lead to dehydration, which can lower the threshold for migraine, she adds.
Many of the same air pollutants that are changing the climate can also trigger migraine attacks.
“High levels of airborne pollutants are well-established triggers for migraine—they affect neurovascular reactivity,” explains Andrew Dhawan, a physician-scientist and staff neuro-oncologist at The Cleveland Clinic. Exposure to poor air quality also “can increase systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, which can activate the pathways leading to migraine attack,” Buse adds.
In addition, downstream effects from climate change can increase stress and anxiety, which may trigger more frequent migraine flare-ups.
After all, psychological “stress is the number one trigger for migraine attacks,” says Fred Cohen, a headache specialist and an assistant professor of medicine and neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. “With more severe weather patterns and storms, people are being stressed by that and by how the weather will affect the supply chain of treatments.”
Disentangling weather-related factors from other common migraine triggers is difficult. Climate-related factors are adding to existing common triggers for migraine attacks, which can include certain foods and beverages (such as cheese, chocolate, and red wine), hormonal fluctuations, changes in sleep, and the like. “Risk factors can add up or stack up and put people above the threshold for migraine attack,” Buse says.
Though Nechama Moring, 43, has had migraines since childhood. The attacks have become more frequent in recent years, which Moring attributes to an increase in volatile weather where they live and changes related to perimenopause. “I went from having a handful of migraines per month to having them four to five days a week, even with preventive medication,” says Moring, a writer in eastern Massachusetts. “We’ve been getting more storms and atmospheric fluctuations, which often trigger my migraine attacks.”
How to cope with new triggers
It’s important to understand your personal patterns and triggers, because they vary from person to person and can change over time, experts say.
“I always tell my patients, ‘We can’t control the weather but we can control our response’,” says Dhawan. “Knowing your triggers is really important so you can have medications available.”
The key is to keep a headache diary: Track your headache symptoms and note what was going on in your life, with your lifestyle habits, and the environment, including the weather, Cohen advises. If you see patterns between certain weather changes and your migraines, you can use weather apps to monitor the weather and take steps to prevent migraine attacks.
“It’s all about preparation and optimization of therapy,” Cohen says.
If you know, for example, that a low pressure system is expected to roll in and that’s a trigger for your migraine flareups, you can try to avoid or minimize your exposure to other triggers such as stress, certain foods, or screen time. Take precautions such as staying hydrated, and consider using preventive migraine medications on those days, Martin says.
If you know that high air-pollution levels trigger your migraines, you can try to limit your outdoor activity or wear a mask outside to reduce particle inhalation, Buse notes.
Also, be sure to discuss how weather changes impact your health with your doctor. “This is a real phenomenon with migraine,” says Cohen. “If you feel brushed off by your provider, advocate for yourself. Don’t suffer in silence.”
