The global rise in temperatures due to climate change and the El Niño phenomenon may create an astonishing side effect: an increase in dog bites.
Based on nearly 70,000 dog bite incidents in the United States over a decade, researchers at Harvard Medical School suggest that dogs tend to exhibit more aggressive behavior and bite more frequently on hot, sunny days with high levels of air pollution.
Dogs tend to be more aggressive on hot, sunny days. (Photo: Jack Sullivan/Alamy).
“Humans commit more violent crimes when temperatures and air pollution are higher. Here, we investigate whether the daily rate of dog bites is influenced by environmental factors,” the authors wrote in the summary of their study published in the journal Nature.
“We conclude that dogs, or the interaction between humans and dogs, become more hostile on hot, sunny days with high pollution levels,” added the research team led by Dr. Tanujit Dey, an Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School.
To arrive at this surprising conclusion, the researchers utilized public data from eight U.S. cities, analyzing 69,525 confirmed dog bite cases, all occurring between 2009 and 2019. They then correlated these dog bite incidents with weather data.
The results indicated that dog bites increased by 11% on days with high ultraviolet (UV) radiation, 4% on hotter days, and 3% during periods of high ozone levels. Interestingly, the number of dog bites actually decreased on rainy days.
However, there are notable limitations to the study since temperature is not the only factor contributing to aggressive behavior. The Harvard researchers carefully noted that the data they used lacked details such as dog breed, gender, or reproductive status.
Additionally, information about the bite victims, including their age, gender, and “familiarity with dogs and the interactions leading to the bites,” was also not analyzed in the scope of the study.
To be fair to dogs, the researchers also pointed out that hot weather, high UV radiation, and elevated ozone levels are types of weather conditions that can make many types of animals more aggressive.
Nonetheless, to ensure personal safety, individuals should be cautious and avoid unsafe interactions with dogs on hot days.
