Parts of the UK waved goodbye to our long heatwave yesterday as heavy rain began to sweep across the country. Although most people welcomed a break from the searing heat, there were some suffering from severe headaches - all thanks to the change in weather. If you don't believe this is a thing, you only have to look at people complaining about the issue on social media whenever a thunderstorm is brewing¹.

昨晚，全国忽降暴雨，英国部分地区正式挥别高温天气。尽管大多数人终于可以从高温天气中缓口气，但有些人却头痛欲裂--多亏这一天气变化。如果你不信，只消问问那些雷雨天就会在社交媒体上抱怨头痛的人就行了。

And if you're still not convinced, read on for the scientific explanation below. There's a reason people experience headaches in this type of weather - and it's not actually to do with the rain itself. It's all about the pressure in the atmosphere, and if the pressure is low then you might feel yourself having to reach for the painkillers².

如果你还是不信，请继续读下去，看看科学解释。这种天气下人们头痛是有原因的--实际上与下雨本身无关。头痛是大气压力所致，如果气压很低，你可能会忍不住想吃止痛药。

A group of scientists studied more than 7,000 patients diagnosed³ with headaches in one medical centre in Boston between the years 2000 and 2007, according to Scientific American. At the same time, they also scoured⁴ National Weather Service data to monitor fluctuations⁵ in temperature, humidity⁶ and barometric⁷ pressure within 72 hours of each patient's visit.

据《科学美国人》（Scientific American）表示，一组科学家研究了7000多位头痛患者，他们于2000年至2007年间在波士顿的一家医疗中心被诊断出患有头痛。同时，他们还搜索了国家气象局的数据，以监测每位病人就诊后72小时内的气温、湿度和气压的波动。

As well as finding that an increase in temperature increased chances of getting a headache, they also discovered that headache risk increased by an average of 6% with every 5 millimetre drop in barometric pressure that occurred. What does that mean for you? Well, when they have those wavy⁸ lines on the weather map and you see the letter 'L' for low pressure, you might be about to experience a headache or migraine.

除了发现气温升高会增加人们头痛的几率之外，他们还发现气压每降低5毫米汞柱，人们头痛的风险就会平均增加6%。于你而言，这意味着什么？好吧，当气象图上出现波浪线的时候，L代表着低气压，那你就有可能头痛或偏头痛。

Low barometric pressure can cause headaches by creating a difference in pressure between your sinuses - which are filled with air - and the surrounding atmosphere. It's a little bit like being on a plane which suddenly increases or decreases its altitude, so if you suffer with ear or head pain while flying then you might be more likely to be affected⁹.

低气压时，你的鼻窦--充满空气--与周围大气之间存在差异，因此会导致头痛。有点像坐飞机海拔骤增或骤减的情况，所以如果飞行时你的耳朵疼或头痛，那气压低就可能导致头痛。

Why is it connected to rainy weather? Well, low pressure is often associated with thunderstorms.

但这与阴雨天有什么关系？因为低压常与雷暴雨有关啊！