Allergies and climate change
Evidence of climate change is all around us, from melting ice caps to increases in certain allergies. With more frost-free weeks in the year, pollen seasons are growing longer, prolonging the misery of anyone who suffers from seasonal allergies. For example, a ragweed plant of today produces significantly more pollen per plant— and over a longer period of time each year—than in the past.
Additionally, “hundred-year” floods are becoming all too common in some parts of the country, not to mention longer hurricane seasons, worse droughts, and record-setting wildfire seasons. All of this is bad news for people with asthma and allergies. Increased precipitation and flooding can promote the growth of mold, which creates health problems for people whose allergies or asthma are triggered by mold spores. Droughts can mean more dust and particulate matter. Intense wildfires generate dangerous amounts of smoke, which can trigger non-allergic asthma and rhinitis.
