As bizarre as it sounds, a recent study published in the British Medical Journal Open Diabetes Research and Care concluded that a rise in the average annual temperature outdoors is associated with a higher rate of diabetes in the United States and glucose intolerance globally.

For every one degree Celsius hotter, the incidence of diabetes climbs the chart by 0.314 per 1000 while the glucose intolerance enjoys a 0.17% jump.

Based on these findings, it would mean that every one degree Celsius would result in over 100,000 new cases of diabetes in the United States itself.

Other studies have found that patients exposed to cold conditions experienced better insulin sensitivity, lower blood glucose, and HbA1c levels. Diabetes rates were also higher in warmer compared to colder years.

Although the exact mechanism on how temperature affects blood glucose and diabetes is unclear, researchers suspect that the metabolic activity in the body which is affected by different temperatures may be in play.

As the average temperature of the Earth keeps on soaring with a new record set in the United States for the warmest winter in 2016, health problems is another item that is added to the long-list of consequences of climate changes.