# Scientists: Human body temperature is dropping worldwide **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 20, 2020, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019 "2020-11-20T06:30:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2020, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/1 "2020-11-20T06:30:13Z")
Two centuries ago, German scientist Carl Wunderlich learned that human body temperature hovered around 98.6 degrees F. But scientists at UC Santa Barbara have determined that in the last 20 years, the average temperature in the UK has dropped to 97.9 and in the US is 97.5. even the temperature in a tribe in remote parts of the Amazon has also dropped considerably. They’re not sure why. > **[Sharp Two-Decade Drop in Human Body Temperature Stumps Scientists, Says Study](https://interestingengineering.com/culture/sharp-two-decade-drop-in-human-body-temperature-stumps-scientists-says-study)** > > Scientists examined the decline in the average body temperature and discovered that it's lowered in the past two decades. Get the details inside. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2020, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/2 "2020-11-20T07:17:04Z")
Reading this brief section on the [history of body temperature measurement from wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_body_temperature#Historical_understanding) does not leave me with any confidence that average body temperature ever was 98.6 degrees. > [@](#): > > Historical understanding > > In the 19th century, most books quoted “blood heat” as 98 °F, until a study published the mean (but not the variance) of a large sample as 36.88 °C (98.38 °F) Subsequently, that mean was widely quoted as “37 °C or 98.4 °F” until editors realised 37 °C is equal to 98.6 °F, not 98.4 °F. The 37 °C value was set by German physician Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich in his 1868 book which put temperature charts into widespread clinical use. Dictionaries and other sources that quoted these averages did add the word “about” to show that there is some variance, but generally did not state how wide the variance is. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2020, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/3 "2020-11-20T09:31:24Z")
I think it’s just one observable symptom of the slow but inexorable on-going heat death of the universe. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/4 "2020-11-20T19:53:20Z")
One conjecture I heard is that we suffer fewer diseases, have less inflammation and therefore lower temperature. Not sure how this applies to tribes in the remote Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![CoconutPete](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coconutpete/32/5294_2.png) [@CoconutPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoconutPete)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/5 "2020-11-21T01:11:53Z")
Lizard People are finally coming out of the shadows… ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/6 "2020-11-21T01:27:48Z")
my body temp has always been closer to 99. checkmate atheists ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/7 "2020-11-21T18:51:51Z")
Or global homeostatic mechanisms adjusting to climate change. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/8 "2020-11-21T19:02:12Z")
Mine’s been around 97.6-97.8 for the last 30+ years. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/9 "2020-11-21T19:49:23Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Or global homeostatic mechanisms adjusting to climate change. Or to air conditioning. Now that here in COVID-land we get our temperatures checked regularly whether we like it or not, I’ve certainly seen that simply being outdoors in and out of the shade for 20 minutes can elevate my temp 2 or 3 degrees. Hanging around indoors surfing the 'Dope? Not so much. Now that’s measuring forehead skin temp, not core temp, but what do we really know about the nature & quality of the 1800s measurements that gave us 37C 98.6F? ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/10 "2020-11-22T15:55:57Z")
Mine’s always been about 97.5. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/11 "2020-11-22T16:51:23Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Now that’s measuring forehead skin temp Just a Mundane Pointless aside, but skimming through the thread I couldn’t help but read the above as “measuring foreskin temp”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/12 "2020-11-22T16:56:38Z")
As one gets older that temp seems to decline as well. Certainly on a time-averaged basis it does :sad trombone: 😭 ---
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2020, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/13 "2020-11-23T09:57:47Z")
Everybody is just chilling out. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2020, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/14 "2020-11-24T18:53:05Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > what do we really know about the nature & quality of the 1800s measurements that gave us 37C 98.6F? Especially the 1800s measurements of tribes in the remote Amazon ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-human-body-temperature-is-dropping-worldwide/926019/15 "2020-11-24T19:21:00Z")
Mine runs 97.0-ish, always making it hard to prove it when I’m febrile.