Climate change will make your allergies worse: Study
Climate change has already extended the duration and severity of allergy season and will increase pollen emissions by as much as 40% in the United States over the coming decades, a new study concludes.
As global temperatures continue to rise because of excess greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, plants are producing more pollen, says the study, conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan and published Tuesday in Nature Communications.
“Temperature impacts the number of winter chill hours and spring frost-free days and is strongly associated with the timing of pollen seasons, including the start date, peak emission date, end date, and duration,” the study states.
By the year 2100, the start-of-spring pollen emissions will begin 10 to 40 days earlier, while the growing season for summer and fall weeds and grasses will extend five to 15 days later, according to the study.
Unless human beings set about curbing air pollution, limiting greenhouse gas emissions and slowing the rise in global temperatures, the annual increase in pollen emissions worldwide could top 250% by the end of the century, the study concludes.
While the latest calculations put a fine point on how bad allergy season could become due to climate change, the link between the two is long established. On its website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that allergies represent a serious public health threat.
“People with respiratory illnesses like asthma may be more sensitive to pollen. Exposure to pollen has been linked to asthma attacks and increases in hospital admissions for respiratory illness,” the CDC states. “Medical costs linked with pollen exceed $3 billion every year, with nearly half of those costs being linked to prescription medicine. Higher pollen concentrations and longer pollen seasons can also make you more sensitive to allergens. This can trigger asthma episodes in individuals with asthma and diminish productive work and school days.”
A 2010 study by the National Wildlife Federation laid out the causal mechanism as to why climate change was poised to result in more sneezing, itchy eyes and runny noses.
“Unchecked global warming will worsen respiratory allergies for approximately 25 million Americans. Ragweed — the primary allergen trigger of fall hay fever — grows faster, produces more pollen per plant, and has higher allergenic content under increased carbon dioxide levels,” the study stated. “Longer growing seasons under a warmer climate allow for bigger ragweed plants that produce more pollen later into the fall. Springtime allergies to tree pollens also could get worse. Warmer temperatures could allow significant expansion of the habitat suitable for oaks and hickories, which are two highly allergenic tree species. Changing climate conditions may even affect the amount of fungal allergens in the air.”
