Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (484 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
The property of objects that determines the direction of heat flow when they are placed in direct thermal contact. The temperature is the energy of microscopic motions (vibrational and translational) of the particles of atoms.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Temperatures.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Thermodynamics; Weather; Environment, Controlled
- Narrower topics
- Cold Temperature; Hot Temperature; Transition Temperature
- See also
- Body Temperature; Thermometers
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 488,526 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Temperature” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 72,023 of them (14.7%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 184,859 records.
Reviews account for 16,817 records (3.4%) and meta-analyses for 815. Randomized controlled trials number 4,789 (1.0%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 184,859 |
| 2000-2009 | 99,879 |
| 2010-2019 | 131,765 |
| 2020 onward | 72,023 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 16,817 | 3.4% |
| Meta-analyses | 815 | 0.2% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 4,789 | 1.0% |
Method: PubMed query "Temperature"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in public health and nutrition
Population and nutrition studies mostly observe what people eat, breathe or are exposed to and then look for links with health, which shows association and not proof of cause. Self-reported diet is imprecise, people who eat or live differently also differ in other ways, and effects measured across a population may not apply to one person. Check the study design, how exposure was measured, what else was accounted for and the size of the effect, not only whether it was statistically significant.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jomon genomics reveal cold adaptation in Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers of eastern Eurasia | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42585312 · DOI · PMC13464473 |
| Pervasive sublethal impacts of heat exposure revealed by telomere dynamics | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 1 | cc by PMID 42744327 · DOI · PMC13577806 |
| Limited capacity for rapid acclimation to marine heatwaves in coastal invertebrates | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 1 | cc by PMID 42605131 · DOI · PMC13643194 |
Jomon genomics reveal cold adaptation in Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers of eastern Eurasia [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- How did Homo sapiens thrive in extreme environments during their dispersal across Eurasia?
- Closing excerpt
- Our study provides one of the first paleogenomic frameworks for investigating ancient adaptations in UP East Eurasians, revealing an evolutionary legacy from a colder past in present-day humans.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (133 words)
How did Homo sapiens thrive in extreme environments during their dispersal across Eurasia? Unraveling adaptations that enabled human survival during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) remains critical. Here, we analyze 42 genomes from Holocene hunter-gatherers (Jomon) in the Japanese archipelago, revealing their deep ancestry from an isolated Upper Paleolithic (UP) East Eurasian lineage. We detect gene flow from northern UP Siberians into Jomon, reconciling long-standing debates between bioanthropology and archaeology regarding East Asian peopling. We find no Jomon-specific Denisovan ancestry, suggesting shared introgression before their LGM divergence from mainlanders. Furthermore, we find evidence consistent with cold adaptation in Jomon UP ancestry, highlighting diverse physiological pathways. Our study provides one of the first paleogenomic frameworks for investigating ancient adaptations in UP East Eurasians, revealing an evolutionary legacy from a colder past in present-day humans.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42585312 · DOI · PMC13464473
Pervasive sublethal impacts of heat exposure revealed by telomere dynamics [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Predicting species responses to anthropogenic environmental change remains one of the most pressing and complex challenges in contemporary biology.
- Closing excerpt
- More generally, our findings, although probably widespread and concerning for population persistence, also highlight the importance of preserving climate refugia in conservation strategies amid rising sublethal temperatures.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (150 words)
Predicting species responses to anthropogenic environmental change remains one of the most pressing and complex challenges in contemporary biology. While mass mortality events and localized extinctions have been linked to global warming, the more elusive and probably common, effects of sublethal heat are less well understood. In a cooperatively breeding bird from the Australian tropical savannah, we identified that hotter conditions accelerated telomere attrition through two critical life-history stages: juveniles transitioning to nutritional independence and adults transitioning into a reproductive phase. In both stages, there was no capacity for environmental or social conditions to mitigate heat-related telomere attrition, except in adults inhabiting high-density vegetation. These findings demonstrate that sublethal heat effects can have pervasive cryptic consequences for individual somatic state, thereby reducing fitness. More generally, our findings, although probably widespread and concerning for population persistence, also highlight the importance of preserving climate refugia in conservation strategies amid rising sublethal temperatures.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42744327 · DOI · PMC13577806
Limited capacity for rapid acclimation to marine heatwaves in coastal invertebrates [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Marine heatwaves are increasing in frequency and intensity worldwide and represent a growing threat to coastal ecosystems and the animals inhabiting them.
- Closing excerpt
- Our findings provide an ecologically relevant assessment of thermal performance in coastal invertebrates and contribute to predictions of how nearshore communities may respond to accelerating ocean warming.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (201 words)
Marine heatwaves are increasing in frequency and intensity worldwide and represent a growing threat to coastal ecosystems and the animals inhabiting them. The vulnerability of marine species to these events depends on several factors, including upper thermal tolerance, the thermal sensitivity of physiological performance, and the capacity for rapid physiological acclimation. We examined upper thermal tolerance and short-term acclimation capacity in 10 mobile macroinvertebrate species inhabiting shallow coastal ecosystems in the Northeast Atlantic. Individuals were exposed either to ambient thermal conditions at 15°C or to a simulated short-term marine heatwave of 5 days at 5°C above ambient temperature. We then measured critical thermal maxima (CTmax) to quantify thermal limits and acclimation responses. Across species, CTmax increased significantly following heatwave exposure, showing that these coastal invertebrates can undergo rapid physiological adjustment. However, the magnitude of the acclimation response was modest, indicating that short-term plasticity provides only limited protection against acute thermal extremes. These limited acclimation responses suggest that some coastal invertebrates may remain vulnerable to intensifying marine heatwaves, particularly taxa with narrow thermal safety margins. Our findings provide an ecologically relevant assessment of thermal performance in coastal invertebrates and contribute to predictions of how nearshore communities may respond to accelerating ocean warming.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42605131 · DOI · PMC13643194
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Are treelines advancing? A global meta-analysis of treeline response to climate warming [4]
- Research article Associations between high temperatures in pregnancy and risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and stillbirths: systematic review and meta-analysis [5]
- Research article Impact of heatwave on mortality under different heatwave definitions: A systematic review and meta-analysis [6]
- Research article Global buffering of temperatures under forest canopies [7]
- Research article Is there an association between hot weather and poor mental health outcomes? A systematic review and meta-analysis [8]
- Research article Review Article: Vulnerability to Heat-related Mortality: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Meta-regression Analysis [9]
Full-text reviews on EvidenceLib
Open-access review articles about this topic, reproduced in full with authors, licence and references.
The impact of environmental factors on respiratory tract microbiome and respiratory system diseases
Yutao Ge, Guo Tang, Yawen Fu et al. · European Journal of Medical Research 2025 · CC BY 4.0
Climate factors and gestational diabetes mellitus risk – a systematic review
Emma V. Preston, Claudia Eberle, Florence M. Brown et al. · Environmental Health 2020 · CC BY 4.0
References
- Watanabe Y, Wakiyama Y, Waku D, Valverde G, Tanino A, Hayashi M, et al.. Jomon genomics reveal cold adaptation in Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers of eastern Eurasia. . 2026. PMID 42585312 · DOI · PMC13464473
- Eastwood JR, Teunissen N, Hall M, Kingma SA, Roast MJ, Aranzamendi NH, et al.. Pervasive sublethal impacts of heat exposure revealed by telomere dynamics. . 2026. PMID 42744327 · DOI · PMC13577806
- Tomás M, Pottier P, Autiero A, Tamarit-Castro E, Berry AA, Blewett TA, et al.. Limited capacity for rapid acclimation to marine heatwaves in coastal invertebrates. . 2026. PMID 42605131 · DOI · PMC13643194
- Harsch MA, Hulme PE, McGlone MS, Duncan RP. Are treelines advancing? A global meta-analysis of treeline response to climate warming. Ecol Lett. 2009. PMID 19682007 · DOI
- Chersich MF, Pham MD, Areal A, Haghighi MM, Manyuchi A, Swift CP, et al.. Associations between high temperatures in pregnancy and risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and stillbirths: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2020. PMID 33148618 · DOI · PMC7610201
- Xu Z, FitzGerald G, Guo Y, Jalaludin B, Tong S. Impact of heatwave on mortality under different heatwave definitions: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Environ Int. 2016. PMID 26878285 · DOI
- De Frenne P, Zellweger F, Rodríguez-Sánchez F, Scheffers BR, Hylander K, Luoto M, et al.. Global buffering of temperatures under forest canopies. Nat Ecol Evol. 2019. PMID 30936433 · DOI
- Liu J, Varghese BM, Hansen A, Xiang J, Zhang Y, Dear K, et al.. Is there an association between hot weather and poor mental health outcomes? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Environ Int. 2021. PMID 33799230 · DOI
- Benmarhnia T, Deguen S, Kaufman JS, Smargiassi A. Review Article: Vulnerability to Heat-related Mortality: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Meta-regression Analysis. Epidemiology. 2015. PMID 26332052 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.