What is the science behind Chinook headaches? Experts still not sure
Many people link Calgary’s hot Chinook winds with the onset of headaches, but experts say the science behind the connection is unclear.
“We certainly don’t know as much about pressure and headaches as you would hope,” said pediatrician Dr. Serena. Orr is an associate professor at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary.
The existence of Chinook headache is simply not real: A 2000 study A study published in the medical journal Neurology showed that Chinook may increase the risk of migraine in some people.
The question remains: why?
Orr, who is an expert in headaches, said it’s most likely to be related to altitude and barometric pressure, which is the force exerted by the weight of the atmosphere.
“Barometric pressure is lower at higher altitudes,” Orr said. “And the prevalence of migraine disease appears to be higher in higher altitude areas.”
Located at more than 1,040 meters above sea level, Calgary is considered a high altitude location. In fact, it has the highest elevation of any major city in Canada.
But the link between altitude and the likelihood of migraine has not been proven, Orr said.
Studies show that rodents can sense pain and stress through their inner ear system due to decreases in barometric pressure, but as Orr points out, “This hasn’t really been worked out in humans.”
Orr was one of the researchers behind a November 2025 study on the relationship between chinook and migraine in youth. That study was not able to find any connection between the two.
Many longtime Calgarians may see Chinook Arch and expect a headache or migraine afterward. But as CBC’s Joe Horwood reports, despite widespread acceptance that pressure changes can cause migraines, one local expert says the real connection is under-researched and not fully understood.
“We expected to see a stronger association among adults with migraine based on a study of older adults, where they found a stronger association between Chinook days and attacks,” he said. “We haven’t seen it in children, so it was really unexpected, and we’re not sure why.”
Orr said more research is needed to understand why the results of this latest study are so different from previous findings proving a link between Chinook and headaches.
“Maybe we have looked at the data that way. Maybe it’s not enough to just say ‘Chinook or no Chinook’. Maybe you need to look at different weather parameters,” he said.
Age can also be a reason. Orr suggested that the brain may respond differently to weather as we age.
from japan oroshi
The Calgary researchers aren’t the only ones interested in the relationship between headaches and barometric pressure.
In Japan, Dr. Toshiyuki Hikita practices medicine in Kanthey Gunma Prefecture of the plain, north of Tokyo.
There, oroshi Falling down the slopes of Mount Akagi. Unlike the Chinooks of the Rocky Mountain range, the Japanese oroshi k is classified asAtabatic winds, meaning they cool rather than warm.
In an email to CBC News, Hikita said Japanese researchers have found no connection between oroshi And headache.
,There are very strong winds, but I don’t think that means there is an increase in headaches in headache patients,” he said.
Another weather phenomenon is of interest when it comes to migraines: typhoons, which usually hit Japan between May and October.
,If a typhoon hits 1,000 kilometers away from Gunma Prefecture, headache patients will experience migraines, even if the weather in Gunma is sunny,” Hikita said.
Like Chinooks, typhoons are associated with a drop in barometric pressure.
“In my personal experience, I get migraines when a low-pressure system like a hurricane comes through,” Hikita said.
They added that other weather factors such as high humidity and rainfall were also associated with more headaches.
“In other words, both the Chinook and oroshi These are strong winds that blow from the mountains, but the difference is that the Chinook causes migraines under certain circumstances. oroshi No,” said Hikita.
The science behind those warm winter breezes and beautiful skies.
Orr plans to conduct another study on chinooks and headaches in the near future, paying more attention to individual weather parameters such as changes in barometric pressure.
“We need more basic science studies in animals and humans, such as imaging studies and various biological studies, to try to understand why,” he said.
“I really think the weather piece can help us better understand migraine biology, because it’s not 100 percent effective either.”
