While many of us prefer running in the chill of winter over the heat of summer, each season presents its own unique challenges for running, even affecting how you breathe.

Impacts Of Cold And Arid Weather On Running And Breathing

Whenever you step outside for a run on a cold, dry winter day, running often feels easier. This is because the cool, dry conditions maximize evaporation of sweat, helping your body maintain a steady core temperature even at high efforts.

However, you may notice that your lungs and throat sting a little bit after, particularly if you are running at a strenuous effort. You may even have a cough for a bit of time after.

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The stinging you are feeling is due to the dehydration of the bronchial lining while running. Whenever you take a breath, your nose, throat, and lungs add moisture content to the air you are breathing. As a result, dry conditions dehydrate the moist lining that protects your airways, according to ACAAI.

Whenever you run at a higher effort, you breathe more through your mouth instead of your nose. This limits the amount of moisture your nose can add to the air before it reaches your lungs and throat, drying out the protective lining of your airways even more compared to an easier effort.

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, airway irritation from running in very dry conditions, such as those on dry winter days, can cause bronchoconstriction for those who have asthma or similar conditions impacting the lungs and breathing.

Because of this, a rescue inhaler may be prescribed for those with asthma to remedy the symptoms caused by running in arid conditions, or running in other conditions that hurt the lungs, such as smoky or hazy conditions.

Pro Tip: To mitigate the symptoms of running in cold and dry conditions, as well as hot and dry conditions, such as those found in the Western U.S., I would advise running at an easier effort and breathing through your nose and mouth, not just your mouth.

I would also recommend hydrating in the hours preceding your run. If you do run at a harder effort, I would recommend taking occasional breaks to assess if you are dealing with a cough or irritation of the throat and lungs.

If you are prescribed a rescue inhaler from an allergist, I would have it handy in case of asthma symptoms and use the inhaler as prescribed with exercise, especially if the exercise is strenuous.

I also do most of my harder interval training sessions during the winter in the morning, when the relative humidity is higher. This way, your lungs are less irritated and you are not coughing after.

Impacts Of Hot And Humid Weather On Running And Breathing

While hot, humid conditions do not affect your lungs as directly as cold, dry conditions, heat strain can most certainly affect your breathing.

If you have ever run on an excessively hot and humid day, you may have noticed that your lungs feel heavy and your breathing is labored, even at an effort that is typically easy.

According to The American Physiological Society, as you overheat, more blood is sent to the skin for cooling while less is sent to your muscles. This causes heart rate to rise over time at the same pace, a condition coined cardiovascular drift. This increases perceived exertion and breathing effort. As a result, your lungs feel heavy as if you are running at a harder effort.

If you are experiencing tightness in your chest while running in the heat, I would recommend stopping as it is an indicator that your core temperature is rising.

If your core temperature continuously rises, it may result in heat exhaustion or even heat stroke.

While heat exhaustion can be treated with shade, air conditioning, electrolytes, and rest, it can be a life-threatening emergency and should be treated as such.

To learn more about what extreme heat does to the body, check out our article on extreme heat and heat safety.

Importantly, hot and dry conditions can also result in cardiovascular strain, especially if you are in direct sunlight.

Along with causing cardiovascular strain, hot and dry conditions can also cause lung and throat irritation with symptoms similar to those described in the cold and dry weather section.

Pro Tip: To avoid having breathing issues while running in the heat to and avoid heat illness in general, I either run early in the morning or late in the evening when both the temperature and sun angles are lower.

I also hydrate with electrolytes and consume light, frequent meals prior to running in the heat. I consume electrolytes and water mid-run by carrying a running water bottle or a hydration belt. I also keep an air-conditioned location handy in case I have heat-related symptoms.

Which set of conditions is worse for your running and breathing?

Hot conditions, particularly hot and dry conditions, are arguably worse for your body while running in terms of breathing.

While your body can evaporate sweat more effectively in a dry heat, reducing the sensation of your chest feeling heavy, hot enough conditions can cause a combination of symptoms, both from running in dry air and high heat.

As a result, running in extremely hot and dry conditions can result in throat and lung irritation, coughing, and even bronchoconstriction in addition to heat illness.

The heat strain will compound the coughing and lung irritation with the sensation of having a weight on your chest.

Pro Tip: While it is not impossible to run in these conditions, extreme caution should be taken. I would also monitor symptoms while running, including breathing.

In the list of worst running conditions for breathing, I would rank extreme dry heat first, followed by hot and humid conditions, and lastly followed by cold and dry conditions.

Each set of conditions affects breathing with the best mitigation tactics being to slow down, breathe through your nose and mouth, take breaks, and listen to your body.

Do you prefer to run in dry or humid conditions? Let us know in the comments below.

Hayden Marshall is a meteorologist intern and First-Year Master's Student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has been following weather content over the past three years as a Storm Spotter and weather enthusiast. He can be found on Instagram and Linkedin.